Dragon Habits
by Little Miss Writing Prodigy
Summary: Once a year the Dragon Slayers completely succumb to their instincts, as bad as that sounds; it's more like babysitting them. [This...this isn't a oneshot anymore...]
1. Chapter 1

**_Sooooo...I did some research on dragons and I found some things I could work with, it's just a short thing, nothing special. I had to make some things up though, so the things that I found are titled bold._**

 ** _Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

 _When Dragon Slayers Get Sick...Everyone Suffers From It._

Romeo Conbolt had just been in the middle of practicing his Rainbow Fire when he nearly got blasted into the wall.

It had been a weird day for him ever since he had entered Fairy Tail that morning. Well, weirder than usual, at least.

It had started with Levy trying to keep Gajeel as far away as possible from _anything_ that was made from iron, the fact that he was turning green whenever the material was merely _mentioned_ explained enough. Then, not even seconds later, Lucy rushed past him, closely followed by Happy; yelling for Natsu to wait for her since he was in _no_ state to be on his own at the moment, despite his protests. The young boy decided to ignore the few tables and chairs that were burned and slightly charred.

It was obvious what was happening, by now, everyone had gotten used to it.

Once a year, there would be a full month where _all_ of the Dragon Slayers- no matter what generation -would succumb to their instincts. And while everyone had been worried at first, there hadn't been any bad habits _so far._ It could still happen, but no one liked to think of those possibilities. Besides, it's not like they had the time, babysitting their local Dragon Slayers was a tedious task as is.

And from the looks of it, this season of their 'Dragon Awakening' had started with all of them getting sick.

Honestly, during their sick moments (not counting motion sickness) it was safest if they just stayed home. But since all of them were stubborn as hell, that sadly never happened. It wasn't that the guild didn't _want_ them around. It was just that...Natsu tended to burn everything around him by just simply _touching_ it, which is why he was the one everyone insisted on staying home _the most._

Gajeel ironically got sick by the mere sight of iron, and the effect of that 'sickness' was ten times worse than his motion sickness. Sure, everyone felt bad for him, but they felt even worse for Levy. She was the one who was stuck with the literal walking mess for the whole day.

As for Wendy...

As Romeo just got the hang of a new technique with his Purple Flare, the guild doors burst open and a gust of wind flew in; nearly knocking Lily over if he hadn't been holding on to Levy.

 _"ACHOO!"_

As the tiny Sky Dragon Slayer let out a loud sneeze, she accidentally let out a tornado that matched the intensity of her Sky Dragon's Roar and knocked over all the tables and people in the guild.

Romeo got thrown back by the force too and would've hit the wall full force if it hadn't been for Elfman standing behind him. Luckily for him, he got away with just landing on the ground; unluckily for Elfman...he took the hit and crashed through the wall.

Wendy stood in the doorway, staring at the mess she created with wide eyes before shamefully covering her face and squeaking out a weak 'sorry'.

As everyone in the guild (who were still standing) denied having any type of injury to make the young Dragon Slayer feel better- the only thing that was most likely severely hurt was Elfman's 'manly' pride -Romeo tiredly got up from the ground and rubbed the back of his head where he had hit the ground. "It's okay, don't worry," he assured her before looking up. "Are you okay?"

The blue haired girl sniffled and weakly stumbled into the guild, with a worried Carla flying close by in case she needed her help. Nobody was really sure of what the small Exceed could actually _do_ to help her girl; but nobody was going to stop her.

Just as the girl tripped, the Rainbow Fire mage acted quickly and caught her before she could fall; quickly letting her go before she got flustered and her powers got even more out of control in her current state.

"Are you sure you should be here?" He questioned worriedly as he took in her appearance. She looked deadly pale, her eyes bloodshot and her body shivering, but still she put on a fake smile. "You don't look so good." He figured saying she looked awful wouldn't really be the best option.

"I-I'm f-fine-" she stammered weakly. "It's just a s-simple c-cold."

Carla stared disapprovingly at her. "You're nearly dead on your feet, child, and you know it! Stop being so irresponsible and go home!" The white Exceed lowered herself to the ground, crossing her arms and staring up while still wearing that disapproving look.

"Honestly, Carla, I'm f-f-i-" She sneezed again, and while everyone was bracing themselves for another attack, all they got was small tornado's forming around Wendy's two pigtails before they disappeared and left her hair standing up and in a complete mess.

"I think you should go home," Romeo concluded sympathetically. "I can bring you back to Fairy Hills, if you want?"

As Wendy started blushing and protesting, Carla eagerly responded on his offer; dead-set on getting the child home safely.

"Guys, seriously, it's oka- _ACHOO!"_

This time, Elfman wasn't there to protect him, so Romeo got the full force of the blow since he was standing so close and flew back; crashing into the wall.

Wendy's eyes widened as she tugged on her pigtails nervously. "I'm sorry!"

"I-it's...o-okay..."

Wendy looked down when she felt Carla tugging on her skirt, the white Exceed was staring at the boy with wide eyes; pointing at something that eerily looked like a spirit leave Romeo's body and the young Sky mage nearly fell over from shock.

" _Romeo!_ "

* * *

 **Dragons have a weakness for gold.**

"Laxus, come on, this is ridiculous."

"Do not stop me, Mira."

Mirajane sighed and turned to leave. "Fine then," she exited her room and closed the door behind her; leaving the Lightning Dragon Slayer alone as he proceeded to wear _every single piece_ of gold jewelry that she owned.

* * *

 _Dragon's tend to sleep at ungodly hours...if they even sleep at all, that is._

Lucy Heartfilia had seen a lot in her life, _especially_ after meeting Natsu and joining Fairy Tail. Her life just got crazier with every waking breath that she took, but this...This was just too much, even for her.

"Natsu, what are you _doing?!"_

"Building a fort. Seriously, Luce, is there something wrong with your eyes? I thought it was kind of obvious."

"Aye!" Happy cut in, yelping when Lucy kicked him out of the window. That was one idiot gone, as for the other one...

"Happy!" He cried, watching the blue Exceed go with wide eyes from the safety of his newly build fort.

"Natsu, it's three in the morning."

"So?"

 _"You can't just break into someone's apartment, steal all their pillows and blankets while they're sleeping and then build a damn pillow fort just because you have trouble sleeping!"_ She hissed loudly, just _barely_ managing to refrain from screaming. She _really_ didn't need another complaint file against her.

"Technically I didn't break in, you left the window open," he spoke, although his voice was starting to turn a bit unsure. He'd never say this out loud because she'd just use it against him and he didn't like the fact that he agreed on something with the Ice Princess, but both him and Gray had to admit that Lucy could match Erza's level of scariness if you pushed her far enough.

He didn't need dragon senses to see that she was close to reaching that level if he didn't choose his next words carefully.

"That is no excuse! Did you forget that we're going on a job tomorrow morning?!" She was _really_ starting to lose her patience.

He paused, looking up at her with wary eyes but still keeping a playful grin on his face. "Wanna join?"

Alright, that's it, screw her patience.

Lucy stalked closer, fully intent on giving him a single Lucy Kick out the window. She hadn't anticipated that he'd be so quick though.

Just as she reached the entrance of the fort, he reached out and in one swift motion pulled her inside his makeshift fort and close to his body; only giving her enough time to yelp out 'Natsu!' before she was dragged in.

"See? Much cozier, right?" He grinned, even if she couldn't see a thing in the dark.

"Y-yeah, m-much c-cozier..." She didn't know for sure how his heightened senses worked, so Lucy _prayed_ that he couldn't see her blushing face in the dark because of their close proximity. She _really_ prayed he couldn't see.

(Of course he could, but since he had a feeling he was going to get Lucy Kicked if he said anything, he decided against it and just kept his mouth shut.)

...

Meanwhile, a _very_ cranky Kinana was sitting in bed; not being able to sleep properly because she _swore_ she could hear Cobra rambling on and on about random, unnecessary things in the middle of the night.

* * *

 **Bonus: Medieval dragons hated the smell of Leopard's breath.**

Yukino jumped up in surprise as a _very_ pissed off Minerva stormed into the guild. When seconds passed and she was the only one who entered the room, worry started to take over and she jumped off her seat to make her way to the angry woman.

"M'lady, is everything alright?" She started gently, figuring she could get that out of the way first.

"Does it _look_ like I am?" She snapped back a bit harsher than was necessary, causing the Celestial Wizard to flinch a little.

"I guess no-"

"It's those _stupid, idiotic_ Dragon Slayers!" She finally responded, not even noticing that she just cut the poor girl off. "They act all tough- especially Sting -but the thing that freaks them out is some damn _leopard breath._ Not even the animals themselves! But their _breaths!"_

Yukino's eyes widened, Sting had told her once about the downsides of being a Dragon Slayer. He had told her all about the yearly things they had to go through, and Leopard breath was the one side effect that he hated the most. She really hoped that Minerva hadn't been cruel enough to leave him and Rogue behind with the Leopards.

But then again, this was the woman who brutally beat Lucy, kidnapped and drained Milliana of her magic power, and attacked Kagura after Erza defeated her. Cruel wasn't really something new to her, even if Sting was their current Guild Master.

Minerva's look turned sinister as a dark smirk appeared on her face, and Yukino already feared for the worst.

"Oh, I just gathered a bunch of leopards and tied the mighty Twin Dragons of Sabertooth to each other before dropping them in the middle of the over sized cats."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Just a little bonus to the one shot, maybe I'll add more, maybe I won't; depends on my inspiration._**

 ** _Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

When Levy had found out, she hadn't been all that surprised. She'd expected it, because to be honest, it was only logical and he wasn't very subtle; to say the least.

When _Lucy_ had found out...she freaked out. Big time.

It wasn't as if the idea itself was _repulsing_ or anything, in fact- if she was forced to be brutally honest -then she quite liked the idea. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ it either, because only Mavis knows how many times she'd thought about it (although she never went as far as _that)_ and started blushing beet red whenever someone snapped her out of her daydreams. (She still blamed Mira for those)

It was just...she didn't know. Shock, maybe? It was true that she'd _never_ expect that he would actually...the thought alone had been crazy; which is why she always tended to push it to the far back of her mind and continue on with her day as normal whenever she managed to snap out of her strange thoughts and fantasies. But when Gajeel had decided to tell Levy the truth and spill the Fire Dragon Slayer's little secret along with it to her, it had come as quite a surprise; understatement or not.

She'd gotten used to it by now though, it definitely explained a great deal about his odd- and sometimes annoying -behavior, and since Natsu had punched the Iron Dragon Slayer in the face and dragged her out of the guild to explain everything the second Gajeel had snitched, a lot had been cleared up and they managed to go through the whole thing with just _minor_ awkwardness and a couple of bandages for both Dragon Slayers because of the fight that broke out after that.

But when Romeo had found out about it, it had been an even bigger curve ball for him than it had been for Lucy.

One step into the Fairy Tail Guild and _anyone_ could tell that something was off.

It was true that they were known for their destructive tendencies and out of control behavior, but in the month that Fiore's resident dragons lost _most_ of their control, _all_ of the guilds (and prisons) housing Dragon Slayers turned uncontrollable; with Fairy Tail still at the top, of course.

But now, it was unusually quiet, and that was all because Porlyusica had decided that it was enough and had taken _every single one of them-_ including Cobra -with her for the day so she could _try_ and teach them to control themselves so they could possibly tone down their rash behavior. And just to be certain, Erza and Makarov had gone with her (mostly to keep Laxus and Natsu in control).

And because of that, Romeo was left alone to his thoughts, despite being not really sure of what to think, let alone what to _do_ with them. He let out a sigh, alerting the guild's one and only matchmaker and poster girl of his mood.

"Are you alright, Romeo? Is something wrong?" The oldest of the Strauss siblings questioned sweetly, a rag in her hand as she wiped down the bar while keeping her big blue eyes on the young child. It was clear that she was worried, it was rare to see the Rainbow Fire mage like this after all.

"I...I don't know," he finally admitted, frowning at himself and clearly agitated. His expression softened when the next words left his mouth though. "It's Wendy."

"Oh?" Mirajane raised an eyebrow, dropping the rag and leaning over the counter to listen to him with full attention. "What do you mean?"

He looked up, not sure if he should trust her sudden interest. "I mean her dragon instincts," he finally clarified, albeit a bit cautiously. "I know that it's technically normal, since this happens every year, but it's...different this year."

"Different how?"

He shrugged. "I dunno...each year she tended to stay at home with Carla during this month unless her instincts drove her to go out, but now..." his face flushed a little, unintentionally piquing the girl's interest more."Now she tends to hang around me...as if she doesn't want to leave for just a second. All her weird habits drive her to me too, for some reason. N-not that I-I mind!" He quickly added, face even redder than before.

The white haired Takeover mage huffed and leaned back. "Tell me about it, you _saw_ how long it took Erza and Master Makarov to get Laxus away from me so he could go with Porlyusica and the others, and Gajeel only left that easily because Lily stayed with Levy. I don't know what Lucy did to get Natsu to go though..." she was silent for a moment as she tried to remember how Natsu agreed to go, before Romeo's earlier words finally sunk in and her eyes started to sparkle.

Mira leaned impossibly closer, making the young boy lean back uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if he liked that smile, it was just... _too_ innocent. "Uh...Mira?"

"So you're saying she's been clinging to you since the beginning of this month?" She asked sweetly, and shivers ran down the boy's spine, her tone _very_ unsettling despite her trying her best to sound sweet.

"I-I wouldn't call it _clinging-"_ his face flushed as Mira's smile just widened. "B-but something l-like that, yeah."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Romeo!" She assured, grabbing a wet glass and clean towel to dry it. "Wendy's just growing up, that's all!"

"W-wait, what?"

 _"Mira!"_ Two voices echoed, sounding _very_ annoyed and Romeo turned to see the Celestial mage and Solid Script mage standing with their arms crossed and glaring at the poorly-disguised 'innocent' barmaid. Mirajane was a sweet woman, but in moments like this; it was easy to see her true nature as a She-Devil.

Said woman flinched slightly at being caught, but quickly covered it up by standing straight and sending her guild mates a sweet smile. "What? He needs to know!"

"Not necessarily _now,"_ Levy protested. "He's just a kid!"

"Wendy herself is too embarrassed to acknowledge it," Lucy added. "Maybe it's not even him! It could even be Chelia for all we know!"

"While that could be very likely," Mira admitted slowly. "From what I heard, our little Wendy's been showing signs. Right, Romeo?"

When those words left her mouth, both Lucy and Levy turned their gazes on a _very_ confused and startled Romeo, waiting for his confirmation. "I-I just s-said that she's been paying more attention to me this month than usual, t-that's all!" His already red face darkened a few shades as he continued. "S-she just seems to be near me a lot, what are you talking about anyways?"

"Dragon Slayers _do_ like their physical contact, Lucy~" Mira sang, mischief written all over her face.

"She's not Laxus, Mira," the blonde replied, half-joking and half-serious.

"Or Natsu," Mira shot back, not even missing a beat and effectively shutting her friend up.

"It doesn't always have to be like that!" A blushing Levy hissed at them. "Gajeel is content as long as he has _some sort_ of physical contact, an arm around the shoulder is enough and both of you know it!"

Romeo decided that this was the perfect time to cut in, sensing that the girls were going off topic and that he'd be in the middle of a _very_ uncomfortable conversation if he didn't stop them. "Uh...guys? I still don't know what you're talking about?"

"Just ignore them, Romeo," Levy answered gently, sighing and taking a seat next to him. "I have a feeling that those two are just going to keep going off topic because of their...experiences."

"Don't act as if Gajeel isn't like that!" Both girls echoed, causing Levy's already flushed face to darken even further.

"Yeah, but we all know that Wendy isn't!" She shot back before focusing her attention back on the _still_ confused boy. Honestly, she was _this_ close to simply throwing a 'silent' spell at them, but decided that it wouldn't be the _smartest_ option.

"You see, Romeo, each Dragon Slayer has a mate," Levy started slowly, waiting for any sign that he didn't understand. When she found none, she continued on explaining. "Like with me and Gajeel, Natsu and Lucy, Mira and Laxus, Sting and Yukino and all the others."

"Natsu and Lucy were obvious from the start," Romeo commented drily, trying his best to hide his grin as the blonde mage squeaked in surprise. Seriously, even he had noticed it?! He was _six years old_ back then!

Levy chuckled. "True, but Wendy never had to worry about that since she was still young...but we think she might have found her mate."

"Really? Who?"

"I think he might be hanging out too much with Natsu..." Mira whispered as Lucy face palmed.

"Don't remind me."

While those two were busy talking about the boy's apparent denseness, Levy had already picked up on the slight disappointment in his words and smiled. Good, the feelings weren't just one-sided.

"It's you, silly!" She answered cheerfully, smile widening as he froze completely and his face matched the color of Erza's hair.

Before he could show any type of reaction though, the door burst open and in walked a dejected Wendy, head low and hands clasped in front of her as she shamefully walked into the guild while Carla scolded her.

"I can't believe you'd lie to get out of your training, child!" The white Exceed stated, voice full of disapproval as she walked next to the young Dragon Slayer.

"But Carla, the air tasted weird!"

"You and I both know that there was not a _single_ thing wrong with the air! You're just neglecting what's best for you!"

Wendy's head snapped up and she shot her friend an apologetic smile. "But I'm fine, honest! I don't even have the urge to go out hunting or anything!"

Carla sighed. "True, but this morning was a different story entirely!"

Wendy flinched as she remembered what had taken place that morning; she'd nearly suffocated the other girls at Fairy Hills by accidentally absorbing as much air as she could in her sleep. If Carla hadn't woken her in time, then maybe she would have.

The girl guiltily looked down. "If I promise to go with Grandeeney tomorrow will you stop being mad at me?"

It took the clairvoyant Exceed a second to realize that she was talking about Porlyusica before she huffed and crossed her arms. "Perhaps," she responded, looking up at the girl.

Wendy smiled, already knowing that her friend agreed. She was just about to say something but her words died down before she could even speak as a certain scent caught her attention, a scent she had become quite familiar with in the past month. And, if she was honest, that scent was also the reason for her little claim of the air tasting weird.

The blue haired Sky Dragon Slayer smiled happily and made her way to the bar, either ignoring or not noticing Romeo's red face and the three girls stifling their laughs. "Romeo!" She greeted cutely, a wide smile on her face as she stood right in front of the sitting boy.

The cute expression on her face didn't really help with his blush, and Levy had to nudge him before he was able to remember that he actually had to _respond._

"O-oh! H-hey Wendy!" He stuttered, trying his best to act normal but failing miserably. It was a good thing Natsu wasn't around, he'd never let him live it down.

But, unluckily for him, the tiny Sky mage already picked up on his odd behavior. "Hey, are you alright?" She questioned worriedly, tilting her head and taking a step closer. "Your face is all red..."

Before he knew it, she had stepped even closer and placed her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature and at the same time checking with her magic to see if anything was wrong while he tried his best to stay as still as possible without freaking out.

He still hadn't figured out what to do with Levy's words, the new information he learned just a _tad_ bit too much for the young boy; _especially_ when she was being that cute.

Wendy pulled away, frown still on her face. "Nothing seems to be wrong but..." she leaned down, her face dangerously close to his as she inspected his trembling form and flushed face. "Why are you so nervous? Is it-"

Before she could finish her sentence, two gentle hands placed themselves on the girl's shoulders and pulled her back, and Wendy quickly found herself in a smiling Lucy's arms.

"Don't worry about him, Wendy, he just caught a small cold, that's all," she assured gently, shooting a wink at the young boy.

The young Dragon Slayer frowned. "A cold? But I didn't sense anything...well, maybe I should heal-"

This time, the boy himself cut in. "T-that r-really isn't n-necessary!" He protested. "Honestly, Wendy, it's nothing to worry about, thanks for the offer though!"

She eyed him warily, before nodding and allowing herself to be taken away by Lucy. "If you say so..." she muttered, proceeding to follow the Celestial mage to the table Gray and Juvia were sitting at.

"She should've let Wendy stay here," Mira pouted as Levy rolled her eyes.

"No matchmaking, Mira, it always ends badly."

"It does not!"

"Gildarts and Laki?"

"...Never mind."

* * *

 ** _*Friendly reminder that they're following their instincts so Wendy's behavior is obviously going to be a_** ** _little_** ** _bit different, but I tried my best to keep her in character._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Alright so...this clearly isn't a one shot anymore...Damn these plot bunnies_**

 ** _I'm leaving this on completed though, since there's no guarantee I'll update unless I specifically said so._**

 ** _Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

 _Dragons Are Possessive Creatures_

Mirajane sighed as she walked through town, hands clasped in front of her and rolling her eyes at the Lightning Dragon Slayer's _ridiculous_ behavior. "Laxus, honestly, you don't _need_ to glare at every single guy that looks at me for even a _second."_

The S-class mage set his intimidating stare on the white haired Takeover mage- even if it didn't really succeed in intimidating _her_ -and scowled. "Are you suggesting I should just let all of these creeps stare at you as they like?"

She sighed again. _"No,_ but at this rate, you're going to scare everyone in Magnolia."

He placed a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. "Serves them right."

"You _do_ know that I can protect myself, right?"

"Of course I do, but that doesn't stop me from worrying."

Mira smiled at his words, a light blush coating her cheeks. She still wondered how a 'brute' like Laxus could turn out to be such a sweet man, but then again, he could be twice as dangerous as that, matching her in strength, maybe even stronger than that. He had come such a long way from when he was trying to take control of Fairy Tail, but was now risking his own life with reckless actions to protect the town and the guild.

Even so...

"Let go of me, Laxus, and behave."

"I don't think so."

Mira's eyes darkened and she looked up at him, a dangerous expression on her face as her eyes started to glow. _"Behave."_

The blond man quickly let go. "Yes ma'am."

Even if Laxus could very well match her in strength, he was still smart enough to know when to give in.

* * *

"Wendy...are you alright?"

The young Sky Dragon Slayer was sitting by a fountain, her entire body trembling as she clenched her fists, staring at the scene in front of her. "I'm perfectly fine, Carla, why do you ask?"

Currently, her, Carla and Romeo were in a small village; having taken a job together earlier. Surprisingly enough, it had been the Rainbow Fire mage's idea to go, despite acting weird and _slightly_ uncomfortable and awkward ever since she skipped Porlyusica's training and came back to the guild that day. He had been _very_ flustered back then, and even though Lucy claimed that he had a small cold, Wendy knew that she was lying.

She wasn't stupid, even if she didn't know what the boy had been talking about with Lucy, Mira and Levy, she knew that it had something to do with her. Mira's claims of wanting her to stay with Romeo after Lucy had dragged her away didn't really make it that hard to guess, in fact, it made it quite obvious. Maybe she had forgotten about the young girl's heightened dragon senses ( _especially_ during this month) or she was _really_ sly.

But then he had ran up to her just when she and Carla entered the guild, red-faced and shyly asking her to go on a job with him. And while she normally would've been blushing even worse than him, she was for once glad for her lack of control over herself, because thanks to her instincts of wanting to be as close as possible to her mate; she accepted the request quickly and with visible excitement, she even agreed without a hint of a blush on her face.

However, Romeo seemed to be even more flustered after she agreed so happily. Maybe it had something to do with Levy and Lucy whispering about how cute she was, _that_ made her blush.

It was a simple job, since Mira wouldn't allow them to do anything dangerous on their own, despite both of them having gone through a lot of things that were worse than most of the job requests on the board, but since neither of them wanted to make her angry, they didn't protest. Carla decided to tag along, saying that _someone_ needed to keep an eye on the girl while she was in her...unstable state.

And since it was such an easy job, they finished it quickly. It required a lot of Sky magic though, which ended with Romeo _insisting_ that Wendy rested by the fountain while he talked to the client.

The white Exceed looked at the girl with concern in her eyes, before motioning towards her hands. "Because you're destroying the fountain!"

The problem was, the client had a _very_ attractive granddaughter who was making heart eyes at the seemingly oblivious boy.

Wendy blinked and looked down, eyes widening as she saw her hand clutching the edge of the fountain tight enough for cracks to form in the stone. The blue haired mage quickly let go, all of a sudden looking very panicked and apologetic at the same time. "I'm sorry!" she screeched, nervously tugging on her long pigtails while racking her brain for a way to solve this. Granted, the damage wasn't all that much, but it was still noticeable and enough for her to feel guilty about it.

Before she could do anything, a voice called out to her. "Hey, Wendy!"

She looked up to see Romeo running up to her, their client _and_ his pretty granddaughter both gone and nowhere in sight.

The girl looked up, smiling nervously and hoping he wouldn't notice the slight cracks she had created in the fountain. It was surprising, to say the least. Sure, all the other Dragon Slayers were crazy strong, but she only had been able to move heavy things with her Sky Dragon Roar- if she didn't destroy it, that is. Maybe it was because she was more dragon than human at the moment, or because she never really had _tried_ to lift something that was sixteen times her weight (no sane person would) but apparently, she had enough strength to possibly destroy part of a fountain with just a hand and without even meaning to. Great.

"Romeo!" She smiled cutely, and while he normally would be blushing beet-red because of that cute face of hers, it didn't seem to be that effective because honestly; it was clearly faked.

And he saw right through it.

The boy's smile faded and a worried look crossed his face. "Uh...Wendy? Are you okay?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"You look...annoyed, I guess?" Romeo frowned. "Seriously, Wendy, what's going on?"

The young Sky mage suddenly looked a little uncomfortable, and Carla sighed, deciding it would be best to step in before the girl exploded from worrying too much. "It's not annoyance, she's just exhausted," the Exceed stated, crossing her arms irritably as Wendy stared at her wide-eyed. "Even if she just needed to set a few boats sailing by shooting wind, in her current state that can take a lot of magic."

Wendy blinked, not sure if she should be grateful or surprised that her friend could lie so well. Makes you think what else she could have lied about. (Not liking Happy, was one)

The black haired boy suddenly seemed guilty. "I'm sorry, Wendy. I wouldn't have asked you if I kne-"

"No, no!" She shook her hands frantically. "It's fine, honest, I just-"

 _"Romeo!"_

Both of them turned to see a young girl about their age running up to them. She had long, wavy light brown hair and big blue eyes. She was smiling sweetly, and from what Wendy could pick up, even her _scent_ was sweet. Her mood darkened again, despite her trying not to let it show. It was the granddaughter from earlier.

"Oh, hey, Aria!" The boy greeted politely, turning his attention on his gloomy teammate when the girl reached them. "Wendy, Carla, this is Aria. Aria, Wendy and Carla."

Aria smiled politely at Carla and held her hand out to Wendy. "Hey there! You must be the one who sent all the boats on their way, thank you for helping us!"

Wendy sighed and took a deep breath before matching the girl's friendly smile and reaching out to take her hand. "It's no problem, really. I love to help!"

This girl had done nothing wrong, she was really sweet and kind. It were just her _stupid_ instincts that were making her feel so bitter about it. That's it, after this, she was _never_ going on another job during this month; _especially_ not with Romeo.

"I'd still like to thank you," Aria insisted. "And...I wanted to ask if you two would like a tour around the city? I heard you came all the way from Magnolia, and Romeo mentioned your motion sickness so I felt a bit sorry for making you travel the whole way..."

As those words left her mouth, Wendy tensed up, her face turning crimson as she shot Romeo a look, who quickly looked away. "Right..."

The boy cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and straightened up, focusing on the confused brown haired girl standing beside him. "I don't think we can take you up on that offer though. Wendy's a bit exhausted and I'd like to get her home quickly since the train trip would probably make it wors-"

"No, it's fine!"

Wendy cringed, her face flushed after hearing him worry. _What was she saying?_ Her instincts were telling her to take Romeo as far away from that girl as possible, but it was just that, _her instincts._ She didn't want to misjudge this poor girl just because she was feeling a sudden- and unnecessary -possessiveness of the boy. Besides, maybe they could be friends?

Romeo locked eyes with her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yep!"

"You shouldn't overexert yourself, child," Carla scolded, equally as confused as Romeo, but still playing along.

"Really, I'm fine!" She pushed herself up and smiled at Aria. "Let's go!" Before anyone could say something, she turned her back on them and already started walking in a random direction.

Romeo frowned, following her with his eyes before his gaze landed on the fountain. "Wait...what happened to the fountain?"

Wendy just walked faster, and Carla sighed.

...

"Are you sure your friend is okay?" Aria whispered, leaning over the table they were sitting at to reach Romeo. "She seems like a cheerful girl, but she's acting so...strange."

"Honestly..." his eyes went to the back of the café, where Wendy and Carla were sitting; claiming that the air was less humid over there and better for the Sky Dragon Slayer. "I don't know..."

Aria frowned, before quickly replacing it with a wary smile. "Well..." she placed a hand over his. "She'd probably tell us if something was wrong, right?"

Romeo tensed up, cheeks turning red as his eyes drifted from their hands to Aria's smiling face, not very sure what to do. "Y-yeah..."

But to be honest, he wasn't very sure about that either.

He froze up completely when he felt someone behind him, two petite feminine hands hanging loosely in front of his chest and he could feel someone placing their chin on top of his head; long blue hair entering his line of vision. Very _familiar_ blue hair.

"How's it going here?"

Wendy smiled at Aria from her position behind the startled boy, her smile kind but eyes hooded as she waited for her answer.

The girl suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, quickly removing her hand from his and he could understand why. He couldn't see her face, but he imagined it didn't look _anything_ like the cute expression she always wore. Her voice explained enough, in fact, her voice sounded freakishly like Mira's when she first started talking about 'Wendy growing up', sweet, but terrifying at the same time. Knowing her, she probably did it unintentionally, but it was still scary all the same.

"W-Wendy?" He finally spoke, after Aria stayed silent.

At the sound of her name, her hands slid up to the area just below his neck, their grip on him tightening just _slightly_ so she was actually _holding_ him instead of letting her hands hang loosely. She removed her head from his and instead opted for leaning down and placing it on his shoulder, affectionately nuzzling her head in his neck and seemingly perfectly content in that moment.

Romeo's already flushed face reddened even more and his eyes widened. "W-Wendy?! W-what a-are y-you-"

"Can we go home now, Romeo?" She muttered softly, squeezing him lightly from his position in her arms. "I'm feeling very tired all of a sudden," her voice was a bit muffled and slow from both drowsiness and having her face pressed up into his shoulder, but he somehow managed to understand her.

The young girl could clearly hear Carla calling her name in the background, disapproval of her current actions clear in the Exceed's voice, but she ignored it; a task at hand.

Aria watched the two and smiled lightly, already understanding what was going on (or thinking she did) "Maybe you should just get her home, she's obviously been pushing herself." She looked up at Wendy. "Thanks for your help again!"

"No problem."

Romeo smiled back at the friendly girl and got up, quickly catching and steadying his friend as she heavily leaned on him, head still on his shoulder. "Wendy! Can you stand?"

He was well-aware of all the adults watching them, making comments such as 'aww, look at how cute they are!' and 'young love is such a pretty thing!' but he ignored it in favor of focusing on her. His face was red enough as is.

Wendy must've sensed his embarrassment because she suddenly pulled away from him and nodded in response to his earlier question, saying goodbye to Aria before walking out of the shop, Romeo quickly following her example and doing the same.

Only when they were a few feet away from it did she realize what she had just done.

Wendy's eyes widened comically and her face turned redder than Erza's hair, looking utterly horrified at what she had done. "Romeo! I-I'm _so, so_ sorry! I r-really didn't mean to-" she cut herself off when she realized she was stumbling over her words and just ran away, leaving the stunned boy alone with the white Exceed.

"What..."

Carla sighed. "You know fully well why all of this happened, don't you?"

"Her dragon instincts," he replied. "Was she...jealous?"

"Yes, and her urge to protect her 'mate' just made it worse," Carla sighed again and summoned her wings. "You two better settle this," she quickly flew after her friend, a hint of a smile on her face.

Her Wendy really was growing up.

* * *

 ** _I did NOT expect this to be so long. In fact, I was planning to throw all of the Dragon Slayers in there, but I guess I'm going to have to split this up because I wrote so much for Romeo and Wendy (They just have that effect on me, okay?!)_**

 ** _And we all know that Mira is the one wearing the pants in that relationship, I just couldn't resist ;)_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks to Conbolt Is Fire for beta-ing this!**_

* * *

As surprising as it may seem, Levy had come to find that out of all the Dragon Slayers, Gajeel was actually the _most_ calm during 'their month'.

While all the others just seemed to be plain uncontrollable, with Natsu burning everything down and Wendy and Laxus blowing everything up, Gajeel just tended to stay in the background. Sure, he occasionally had his problems too, but they were rarely as... _destructive_ as the others. Levy didn't really know _where_ the logic in all of this came from, but he actually tended to be _more_ destructive _without_ all his instincts driving him crazy.

And because of that, she had it fairly easy with him during this month...most of the time, at least. The only thing that was _really_ unpleasant was whenever he got sick...that was just ten times worse than all of the Dragon Slayers' motion sickness _combined._ But other than that, she really didn't have room to complain.

Although...she guessed _some_ things couldn't be helped.

The Solid Script mage had already realized early on what the 'symptom' of this day was, with both Wendy and Romeo walking into the guild with embarrassed looks on their faces and Carla wearing one of disapproval; not to mention that the young Sky Dragon Slayer seemed to stay even closer to the boy than usual.

She had also picked up on Laxus' odd behavior, growling and glaring at any man that even _looked_ at Mira before quickly apologizing and behaving whenever the 'innocent' woman glared at him. The electricity sparking in his eyes was enough to keep any sane male away though, even Wakaba hadn't made any of his usual comments directed at Mira.

So far, only those two had shown signs, since Natsu was still his usual dorky and idiotic self, they hadn't heard anything from Yukino or Kagura, Kinana didn't seem to be having any type of headache or wasn't staring off into space like she usually did whenever Cobra was trying to talk to her, and Levy definitely didn't notice any type of strange behavior from Gajeel.

...Or so she thought.

While his protectiveness may seem sweet to some people, this was just getting plain annoying.

"Gajeel! Nobody is going to jump me _in my own home!"_

The Iron Dragon Slayer had dedicated himself to being her personal stalker for the day, even going as far as waiting for her and standing guard in front of the door as she went to the bathroom.

And now, as she was seated on a tall ladder so she could easily browse through her large collection of books; he was blatantly ignoring her and outright _glaring_ at the door and window, ready to attack at any moment. It was ridiculous, really, but she had come to learn that he was nearly as stubborn as Lucy, so she decided to just keep her mouth shut and see how far he went with all this.

Levy sighed, wishing that he'd drop his brooding attitude for once as she searched for a specific book in the unending row of literature. But then again, if he stopped brooding so much, he wouldn't be the same Dragon Slayer she had fallen in love with. As crazy as it sounded, it was actually quite easy to learn to love his rudeness. At first the Solid Script mage couldn't understand for the _life_ of her how someone as eccentric and passionate as Juvia could be so close to someone as grumpy as _Gajeel._ But then he had shown how - surprisingly - thoughtful he could be and Levy decided she might as well start being more open minded and give the Iron mage a chance.

A decision she didn't regret in the slightest.

Although his habits of... _singing_ and eating his spoons instead of his food had startled her a bit at first (she prayed every day that she wouldn't have to see his 'Shoobie-Doo-Bop' act for a little while longer) she'd grown to adapt to that too.

But still, she knew she couldn't really blame him for this since he had little to no control over himself at the moment, but this little quirk of his was starting to get on her nerves more and more; even if she tried to ignore it.

The blue haired mage yelped and dropped a book in surprise when she heard the window get thrown open with a _little_ more force than needed, (it broke) watching as the book fell to the ground and onto the carpet with a soft 'thud'.

She tried to keep her patience, she really did.

"Gajeel..." she breathed slowly, closing her eyes."What are you doing?"

Said Dragon Slayer was leaning out the window, scanning the area suspiciously, despite the only people ever setting foot in the place being Erza, Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Laki and Evergreen. "I smell something suspicious."

"That's probably Juvia next door, she's trying to bake Gray a cake again."

"But still."

Levy groaned and leaned her head back, where was Lily when you needed him?

* * *

"Natsu, put me down!"

Alright, so when she saw how Wendy, Laxus and Gajeel had acted the day before, she figured she didn't really have anything to worry about. Sure, they were acting a bit possessive and weird, but it really wasn't all that extreme; Natsu was unpredictable, yes, but he wouldn't go over the top, right?

Oh who was she kidding? The Fire Dragon Slayer was _known_ for always going overkill, even with the littlest of things, and even now he didn't fail to disappoint.

Lucy feebly covered her face with her hands and pushed it into his chest, trying to make herself as small as possible in his arms to try and minimize her current embarrassment.

Natsu looked down, frowning when he spotted her trying her best to practically crawl into him. "What's the matter, Luce?"

"Please put me down."

When Lucy had woken up that morning, she was greeted with an open window and Natsu snoring beside her, back then she had just rolled her eyes, gotten dressed for the day, and then pushed him out of the bed to wake him up. A perfectly normal morning routine...for her, at least.

But then he had surprised her by sweeping her right off her feet (literally) and _insisting_ on carrying her everywhere for the whole day, despite her protests.

It was her own fault for thinking he wouldn't go overboard though. The whole damn reason he hadn't been present the day before was because Porlyusica had kept him with her for extra training since he was the one who was the _most_ out of control, as opposed to Gajeel, who was allowed to leave early because he seemed to be perfectly fine.

Which led them to their current situation; him carrying her bridal style the whole way from her apartment to the guild as if it was the most normal thing in the world while she tried her best to hide.

At this point, she was _wishing_ for the stupid cat's idiotic comments so she had something else to focus on instead of the feeling of being pressed so close against her Dragon Slayer, but he just _had_ to go and surprise Carla.

Her best friend suddenly looked confused. "Why would I do that?"

The blonde Celestial mage looked up, an annoyed expression crossing her face and eyes lit with fire as she glared at him. _"Because I can walk on my own and this is embarrassing!"_ She hissed loudly, most likely startling a couple of people walking nearby. "I have legs for a reason, you know?!"

"To Lucy Kick bad guys?"

She huffed. "It's not only going to be bad guys if you keep this up."

He rolled his eyes and subconsciously tightened his grip on her as he continued walking. "I don't know why you're being so difficult, Luce, it isn't that hard to let me carry you, now is it?"

Lucy blinked in surprise and leaned her head back slightly so she could properly look at him; completely forgetting about her earlier embarrassment. He sounded...annoyed, for some reason, his expression matching his tone. He wasn't looking at her, just staring out in front of him, but she could clearly see the clenching of his jaw and it wasn't that hard to feel his already unnatural temperature heating up.

"Hey, Natsu..." she spoke, voice losing the angry tone she used earlier and settling for a softer tone instead."Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She sighed, settling for a different approach instead. "Fine, give me _one_ good reason why you insist on carrying me. If it's good enough, I won't complain anymore."

He grinned widely and opened his mouth.

"'Because I felt like it' isn't going to cut it!"

He growled in annoyance and closed his mouth again, and she just couldn't help but smile; watching as he tried to think of something to say. Seeing him think so hard was surprising enough as it is, and she was _this_ close to letting him have his fun just for the effort he put into it.

"Because you're mine," he finally spoke, and her head snapped up in surprise.

It took Lucy a moment to realize what he had just said, and when she did, her face flushed a dark shade of red as she spluttered for an answer to that. Sure, she asked him for a good reason, but she hadn't expected _that!_

"W-what did you just say?!"

He looked down at her and smiled softly, despite not being so sure why she was reacting so heavily to his words. "Because you're mine," he repeated slowly, jaw clenching as he continued. "Because people need to know that so they can stop staring whenever you walk around," his eyes lowered to hers again. "Those short outfits of yours don't really make it easier."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks darkened even more, and she thought Laxus' behavior had been bad. "W-what are y-you talking about?! It's just the way I like to dress!"

"I'm not saying you should change," he clarified, rolling his eyes again. "I'm just making sure you're aware."

Lucy looked up at him, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Natsu...are you jealous?"

He shrugged. "Can't really help it, you know that."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not talking about your possessive instincts, I'm talking about _you."_

He looked down at her as if she was stupid. "Well, duh, I thought that was pretty obvious! Seriously, Lucy, is something wrong with your brain?"

"You-!" She stopped herself and sighed, dropping her head against his chest. "Alright fine, you can carry me today."

And just like that, his trademark goofy grin reappeared on his face. "Cool!" He cheered, before rushing towards the guild, giving her little to no warning about his sudden decision to pick up speed.

The blonde yelped in surprise and tightened her grip on him to steady herself. _"Natsu!"_

She was _so_ glad she decided to wear shorts instead of a skirt that day.

* * *

Kinana was going _crazy._

Not only had Cobra been talking to her non-stop (something she welcomed at first, but now it was just getting too much) despite telling her he couldn't see her because if someone saw a former member of the Oracion Seis with her she'd be in danger. But he'd also send _said_ former Oracion Seis members to spy on her.

How he got them to do it, she didn't know, since she doubted they'd just willingly spy on a random girl at Cobra's request. He pulled it off though, since she would feel a person racing past her at top speed from time to time, or get the sense that she was being followed whenever night fell. (She knew that Midnight liked the dark, but could he be _less_ creepy about it?)

Hot-Eye was the one who stood out the most though, since he didn't really care about being subtle since - according to him - it was for the sake of love. And because of that, out of all of Cobra's friends, Hot-Eye was the one who she actually managed to have decent conversations with.

The former snake wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that Angel needed a lot more convincing than the other three, either that or she was the most _subtle_ out of all of them because she didn't spot her _at all._ Kinana guessed it was the former though, since she started seeing strange creatures (which she _assumed_ to be the products of Angel Magic) following her a lot after Kinana had first met Yukino. She didn't know what connection she had to the Celestial mage, and Cobra didn't want to tell her either, so she decided to just drop it.

Seriously though, she understood his reasons for staying in hiding, and she also understood that he wanted to be certain she was safe - especially now - but if all the others could risk being seen around her, then why couldn't _he?_ Not to mention that being continuously stalked was slightly getting on her nerves. (Especially Midnight, she had nothing against him, but the way he stalked her in the dark was just...creepy)

She never voiced her thoughts to him though, figuring she should just leave things as it was. That was the price for falling for a wanted criminal after all, wasn't it?

The girl sighed and kept on walking through the city, not even paying attention to her surroundings as she walked into an alley.

The purple haired girl roughly got pulled out of her thoughts when she heard grunts and groans of pain, followed by someone coughing as if he had been poisoned. She turned to see three unfamiliar men lying on the ground, two of them unconscious while one of them was on their hands and knees and coughing up blood. Her eyes widened and she started running towards them, but stopped when she noticed a certain shadowed figure standing near the men.

"The one day I send no one after you and you get yourself in trouble."

She froze as he looked up, not sure if she should be happy, or concerned. "E-Erik?"

The man that was still conscious groaned in pain and Kinana decided she could ask questions later as she hurriedly walked towards the man coughing up blood, before she could get near him though, a pair of familiar arms pulled her back and away from him.

"Don't," Cobra ordered, and she froze, looking up at him in confusion.

"What are you saying?!" She exclaimed, staring at the man with worried eyes. "He's hurt."

Cobra scoffed. "He's lucky I left him alive, it's just a minor dose of poison, nothing lethal."

At his words, Kinana roughly pulled away from him, actually managing to get out of his grip solely because he hadn't expected the sudden move.

"You did this?!"

He didn't reply, didn't even move, just stared at her; but she knew enough.

"Why would you do that?!" As far as she knew, they hadn't done anything wrong, so why would he just attack three men without a reason? She thought he stopped doing things like that the moment he joined Crime Sorciere.

The Poison Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes in annoyance. "They were _after_ you, Kinana."

She blinked. "What?"

He growled, was she really going to make him say it? "I heard their thoughts, they were planning to corner you."

"To do what?"

How could a twenty-seven year old woman still be so innocent? "What else? Three men cornering a young, defenseless woman in a dark alley; think it through."

Her eyes widened and she looked down. "O-oh."

Cobra sighed and stepped forward, _gently_ grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. "Let's get out of here," he muttered. Frankly, the sound of that _pig_ coughing and _pathetically_ wheezing for air was starting to annoy him.

* * *

Yukino was panicking.

She didn't know if she should jump in and take action or not. She knew the right thing to do was to stop him, but on the other hand, he was _very_ unpredictable at the moment. Who knew what he would do?

But if she didn't do anything then he could end up killing him! And her conscious just wouldn't allow that.

Everything had gone as usual when the day started, waking up, getting dressed, heading towards the guild, simple things like that. When she entered the guild though, she could immediately notice the absence of one of the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth, but decided not to think much of it after Sting had informed her that Rogue was tracking down Kagura. As weird as that may sound to someone else, Yukino understood. She was just grateful that Sting was being so calm, last year he had damn near well locked her up in her room if Minerva hadn't cut in.

As lovable as they all could be, sometimes the Dragon Slayers really went too far. And he had noticed, because back then, Yukino had been so angry that she _refused_ to talk to him for the rest of the day...until he had shown up at her house in the middle of the night and kept apologizing, refusing to leave until he had apologized enough in his opinion; even when she had already forgiven him.

But her day had gone well this time, the only odd thing being Rogue's absence, but other than that, nothing wrong. Sting hadn't even shown any sign of being affected by what was currently plaguing the Dragon Slayers (from what she had heard from Lucy, it was extreme possessiveness this time) so she really shouldn't complain.

That was, until she made her way back home and some kid decided to try and cop-a-feel.

It was a boy about the same age as her, grinning smugly at her as she turned around to face him. Before she could do anything about it herself though, a single - albeit powerful - punch knocked the kid down and a very familiar blond entered her line of vision, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Sure, maybe the stranger deserved a punch or two because of his uncalled for actions, but the problem was; _Sting wasn't stopping._

He just kept punching and punching, not stopping even when she called for him to. At this rate, he would end up giving the boy some broken bones and internal bleedings. From the looks of it, his nose had already been broken, no way that it was naturally that crooked. She was just glad he wasn't using magic; who knows what he'd do then. He had blasted Rogue with his White Dragon Slaying magic just for _accidentally_ touching her, let alone with this kid who did it on purpose.

Yukino got pulled out of her thoughts when two of her keys started glowing. Libra was saying something about balance being needed and that she should calm him before things got any worse, while Mother Pisces just urged her on to hurry up and _do_ something.

So she did.

Without thinking, she rushed forwards and grabbed his raised fist, stopping it just before he could land another punch. Her arm was trembling, not from fear, but from trying to stop him from punching the kid. It was no secret that most of the people in Sabertooth were crazy strong; Sting and Rogue somewhere at the top, but this was just ridiculous. Especially if you took note of the fact that he was _clearly_ holding back most of his strength so he wouldn't end up accidentally hurting her.

"Yukino..." he spoke slowly, not even looking at her; eyes still focused on his terrified victim. "Let go of me."

She shook her head. "Sting you need to stop!" She pleaded, and she could feel his strength lessen as he turned to face her.

"You want me to stop? After he just-"

 _"Yes!"_ She hissed, cutting him off and still holding on to his arm. "He's already had enough, look at him! He's nearly passed out! Just..." she trailed off and her voice cracked just slightly, but he caught up on it with his heightened hearing, making him freeze. "Just please stop."

Sting sighed and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before letting go of the terrified boy and standing up. He looked down at Yukino - who was shooting him wary looks - and, without warning, pulled her closer to him.

The white haired Celestial mage tensed up at first, before relaxing and hugging him back. "I'm sorry," he muttered into her hair. "Not for beating him up, but for losing control like that and making you worry."

She sighed and nodded her head. "At least you stopped."

* * *

Kagura wasn't stupid, she knew she was being followed.

And since she also knew precisely _who_ was following her, she didn't feel the need to draw Archenemy.

She had to give him credit though, had she been anybody else, then she wouldn't have noticed him follow her around. It was a clever way of stalking someone, blending in with the shadows - literally - and making sure not to be seen by acting like a normal shadow. But she had trained herself to notice _every little detail,_ so even this wasn't enough to fool her.

Finally, she sighed, frankly a bit tired of pretending to be oblivious to his antics. "Rogue," she spoke calmly, barely noticing the shadows move around restlessly. "I know you're there, if you wanted to follow me, just do so in person. It doesn't really make a difference."

A hint of a smile crept its way onto her face as the shadows disappeared and Rogue appeared behind her, actually _blushing and stuttering_ as he tried his best to search for an excuse. She never thought she'd see the day where he'd blush, let alone be so flustered as to stutter, but apparently she managed to pull it off.

Kagura sighed and walked over towards him, grabbing his hand to drag him with her on her walk around town, and only letting go when he finally walked along with her...which took quite a while.

* * *

 ** _Huh...this turned out to be longer than the last one..._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

 _Dragons are protective of their young_

Lucy sighed and tiredly sat down next to Juvia, almost instantly dropping her head on the table.

The water mage blinked and looked down at her ex love rival, ever since Gajeel said that the blonde was Natsu's mate and the two actually got _together;_ Juvia decided that she really wasn't a threat anymore and that she could stop worrying...for now. "Is something the matter, Lucy?" She questioned hesitantly, looking down at the Celestial mage with concerned eyes.

"You'll see in a second," Lucy responded, voice muffled.

And, right on cue, the guild doors burst open; followed by Gray and Natsu at each other's throats.

"You wanna go, Ice Princess?!"

"You sure you can take it, Flame Brain?!"

Juvia stared at the two with wide eyes, before sighing and rolling her eyes. Normally she would've already been by Gray's side to protect him, but after realizing that his fights with Natsu were a _daily_ thing (sometimes more than once) she had given up; figuring it wasn't really that bad if it was part of his routine. She still kept an eye on him though, just in case. "What happened _this_ time?"

The blonde Celestial mage looked up. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

 _"Fire Dragon-"_

 _"Ice Make-"_

Juvia threw up her hands to create a water wall to protect herself and Lucy from the inevitable destruction that was soon to follow, while Romeo hurriedly jumped over the bar to hide behind it. As fun as it was to join in on the fights; he was (surprisingly) still sore from being knocked into the wall by Wendy the other day.

Speaking of said girl, Romeo looked around worriedly, searching for any trace of her. _Everyone_ knew how clumsy she could be, so walking around in the middle of the battlefield Natsu and Gray created wasn't really the safest option for her. Granted, her Dragon senses helped a great deal, since she could easily detect and avoid danger ahead of time by just sensing it. But she still managed to frequently hit the ground for no apparent reason.

And right now, she managed to walk right in the line of fire without even realizing it.

 _"Wendy!"_ Romeo jerked up behind the bar, he knew that he most likely wouldn't make it in time, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. He slammed his left hand on the bar to pull himself over and he slid over the counter to rush into the fight.

Once his feet touched the ground Romeo sprinted onto the nearest table and soared into the air with his right fist pulled back. _"Purple Flare: Whip!"_ Once a large purple flame ignited over his fist he threw a punch forward and a stream of purple fire with a giant hand at the end shot out to stop the ice but before it could reach her, the sharp ice crystal headed for her was already too close.

...Or so he thought.

Before it could hit her, an arm made entirely out of iron shot in front of her and blocked the projectile; effectively shattering it into tiny little pieces.

The young Sky Dragon Slayer blinked in surprise and looked beside her, even more surprised when she found a _very_ angry looking Gajeel standing next to her. She didn't fail to pick up on the sudden silence that befell the guild either.

Not even a second after Gajeel had reached Wendy, another figure appeared behind her, electricity sparking around him as he loomed over the young girl; arms crossed and matching Gajeel's glare directed at a certain ice mage.

And while all of that was happening, poor little Wendy was still as oblivious as ever. She hadn't noticed Laxus yet, the only thing she noticed was Gajeel protecting her. That wasn't such a big deal, right? Why was everyone being so silent all of a sudden?

Lucy was sure she was going crazy, just a second ago, it had been decently cold; since they were in the middle of winter after all. But now, she could've _sworn_ that she was _boiling_ because of the sheer temperature of this place. She wiped her forehead, surprised to see little droplets of sweat on the back of her hand; and when she looked beside her, she spotted steam coming from the water mage, her liquefied body evaporating in the heat.

This wasn't normal, why was it so hot all of a sudde-

"Oh no," Lucy paled and looked up, freezing in place when she spotted the source of this abnormal heat. For once, she regretted being right.

Natsu was still standing in the position from earlier, not even having moved an inch the entire time. His fists were clenched tightly as his hooded eyes focused on the ground, flames surrounding his entire being.

And as much as Gray _hated_ to admit it, he was a bit intimidated, not just by Natsu - _Mavis no_ \- but by all three Dragon Slayers looking at him as if they had already figured out sixteen different ways to murder him in some _very_ painful and creative manners.

But, that wasn't the most important part at the moment.

The Ice wizard turned his attention on a confused Wendy. "Wendy! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

The blue haired girl looked up at him and smiled. "Ye-"

 _"You almost hit her with an ice spear!"_ Gajeel growled, retracting his metal arm and breaking the disturbing silence. "That shit ain't okay!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"But you almost did," Laxus cut in gruffly, still with his arms crossed and electricity threateningly flickering around him.

"I don't care if you hit Salamander, but the kid's off limits, _got it?!"_

During the verbal abuse the two Dragon Slayers were shooting at Gray, Juvia was anxiously sitting in her seat beside Lucy, not knowing if she should step in or not. Normally she would've acted immediately and without thinking, but her Gray had mentioned _many_ times that he was capable of fighting his own battles and that he couldn't do that with her constantly worrying about him. But if it made him happy, she would comply.

Natsu suddenly tensed up, before raising his fist and throwing a punch straight at Gray's face.

Screw her promise.

Both Lucy and Juvia shot up, the latter rushing towards the Ice mage while the former hurried towards her mate to push him back as far away as she possibly could. He actually moved back a couple of inches, and just from that, she knew that he was letting her push him. He was nearly impossible to move, especially when he had such a strain on his control as he did now. Normally she would've been _lightly_ offended that he had to _let_ her push him (excuse you, she could very well push him with her own strength if she wanted to) but now she took it as a good sign. If he managed to hold himself back for her sake, then it meant he wasn't too far gone.

As Lucy kept Natsu in check, both Mira and Levy kept an eye on Laxus and Gajeel, ready to jump in if needed. Romeo, on the other hand, was itching to go and check on Wendy, but after seeing the state the other three Dragon Slayers were in; he doubted that was a good idea.

But still, even with such a drastic turn of events; nobody was really surprised about it. Wendy was the youngest of the Dragon Slayers, effectively making her the baby of the Dragons, and if one thing was certain about dragons, then it was that they protected their young with their _life._

From that day on, everyone in the guild decided to keep an eye on Wendy at all times; for both her sake and everyone else's.

* * *

 _Dragons don't like being ignored_

Sting huffed, actually _pouting_ as he lay upside down on Yukino's bed. The day had ended already, which meant that everything _should_ have been dealt with. Then _why was she still busy?_

He had been spending time at her place for a good six hours now, and during the entirety of that time, she had been glued to her desk and not paying him any attention. She had been reading a rather thick book the entire time, just _barely_ acknowledging him.

He didn't like it.

Not at all.

She was supposed to be spending time with _him,_ paying attention to _him._ Not to some stupid piece of carton that had pages with words in between and was dubbed as 'literature'. Seriously, what was so entertaining about it? It were just words on a piece of paper, nothing more, nothing less.

It was ironic, really, when Natsu had complained about Lucy always working on her novel or reading one, Sting had just laughed and brushed it off; claiming that he needed to stop whining and just suck it up or _make_ her notice him. But now that he was in a similar situation, it wasn't as amusing as he had thought it would be.

Since when did Yukino like reading so much anyway? Sure, she picked up a book sometimes, but she never stayed this... _dedicated_ to one before. She preferred to read whenever she had the time, taking breaks whenever she felt like it or it was necessary. Now she was nearly glued to the thing and had been looking through it non-stop. It irked him, to say the least.

 _"Yukino!"_ He whined, dragging out the last part of her name and looking at her from across the room.

She just merely hummed in response.

Sting's eyes narrowed, and he pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed; leaning his head on his hand as he did so.

She wanted to play it like that? Fine then, he never was one to deny her wishes.

Yukino sighed and flipped the page, eagerly reading what was written on it. Suddenly, she felt someone standing behind her, their hot breath tickling her neck and making her tense up. "Yukino~" He sang lowly, and she nearly fell over.

But still, she needed to keep reading, it was important. So, despite her better judgement, she ignored him and flipped another page.

She gasped, nearly dropping the book when she felt his lips at her neck, covering the sensitive skin with wet, open-mouthed kisses as she tried to focus on what she was doing.

Keyword; _tried._

"S-Sting, stop it," she muttered quietly, mentally cursing her traitorous body for starting to tremble.

"With what?" He responded innocently, and she rolled her eyes before continuing to read.

...Or, at least _tried_ to, since he chose that exact moment to suck on the sensitive spot on her neck.

This time, Yukino _did_ drop the book, freezing completely when the jacket slid off the hardcover, revealing what she really had been reading the entire time.

"What..." Sting frowned and crouched down to pick the book up, pausing when he read the title. _"Dragon Life?_ Yukino, since when have you been interested in dragons?"

"W-well," Yukino's face flushed as she tried to search for an explanation, but when she found none, she just gave up. "I've been studying them so I could try and help you," she sighed, looking down.

This just confused the White Dragon Slayer even more. "Help me?"

She nodded. "I figured if I knew more about dragons, I'd know what to expect during this month and maybe I'd be able to help you so you wouldn't do things you'd end up regretting." She still didn't meet his eyes as she nervously started playing with her fingers. "It's silly, I know."

It was silent for a moment, until the white haired Celestial mage could hear the soft sound of the book being put on the desk, seconds before a pair of warm lips met hers. She looked up in surprise, but before she could actually react, he had already pulled away.

"It's not silly," he assured her, smiling softly. "It's actually really nice, I appreciate it, thanks."

Yukino's face flushed a deep red. "I-It's n-nothing! Don't w-worry about i-it!"

* * *

 ** _Yes, yes, I know I left out Rogue and Cobra, but for some reason, it just didn't feel right to write about them with these topics._**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

 _Dragons are infectious_

Gray Fullbuster had never seen his...'friend' as worried as he was now.

It had been a normal day at first, as normal as it could get in Fairy Tail; you wouldn't even think that there was the slightest thing wrong with her, or all of them, for that matter. She was just the same as always, scolding Natsu, complaining about things that really weren't such a big deal; being a pain in general (Happy's words, not his).

But then, all of a sudden she just collapsed and everything went downhill from that point.

She had been standing in front of their usual table, he was seated next to Juvia (because yes, by now he had accepted that he had become a package deal with her) and Happy contently snuggled between her breasts as she held him in her arms while he snored softly and dreamed about random things. (Most likely fish, if they had to go from the information he was mumbling in his sleep)

She was quite excited about something, talking animatedly, and, if she hadn't been holding Happy, then she most likely would've been talking with her hands. Gray hadn't really been paying attention much, since Juvia herself was looking a bit under the weather. She was clinging to him (as usual), but instead of glaring at random girls who just merely walked by him, she had her head placed against his shoulder and her eyes seemed to be drooping. He felt a bit bad to be honest, the last job the two of them had went on had taken a lot out of her; and it was visibly still taking its toll on her. She actually looked kinda cute.

He'd have to take her back home soon though, and ask either Erza or Natsu what Lucy was rambling on about in case she got mad at him for not listening and Lucy Kicked him.

Surprisingly enough, Natsu was actually _listening_ to her. He didn't know just _what_ the Celestial mage had done for the Fire Dragon Slayer to pay attention, but it seemed to be working.

...That, or he was faking it; which seemed to be a bit more likely, now that Gray really thought about it.

He got roughly snapped out of his thoughts though when the blonde's eyes went blank and her grip on the blue Exceed started to loosen. Just from that, Happy woke up from his slumber and flew out of her arms; just as she passed out and fell backwards.

Natsu was the first to react, shooting out of his seat so fast someone might think he used his fire as a boost. He managed to catch her before she fell, both of them falling back in the booth with her on his lap as he frantically tried to wake her. "Luce? Lucy! What's wrong?!" He placed his hand on her forehead, eyes widening as he actually _felt_ the heat coming from her. It wasn't enough to burn him, of course, but it would burn anybody else. She was nearly boiling enough to match _Igneel's_ flames. _"Lucy!"_

And just like that, a chain reaction started. Everyone's attention momentarily shifted from the unconscious blonde as a glass shattered and Mira went down, soon followed by Levy and Kinana.

The scream from Wendy across the room alerted them that Romeo had passed out too.

...

Porlyusica appeared soon after, checking on each and every one of them, or...at least tried to. When she reached Lucy, she ran into a... _slight_ problem. A problem in the form of Natsu Dragneel.

When the woman tried to touch her, he actually _growled_ at her in warning. "Don't," he hissed, protectively sitting beside her- something which he had been doing the moment she lost consciousness.

"Hey, man, just let her check on her!" Gray cut in, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He could mildly understand why he was acting this way, just _mildly._ If Juvia had been the one to pass out all of a sudden, he wouldn't have wanted anyone to touch her without knowing she was okay first either; but he wouldn't have gone _that_ far. He blamed it on the Dragon Instincts though, so he couldn't really blame the Flame Brain for that one.

Not to mention that so far, everyone had already woken up. Everyone but Mira and Lucy.

"It's for her own good, Natsu," Erza added, her tone gentle.

The Fire mage huffed and moved aside, annoyance clear on his face as he crossed his arms and waited impatiently.

"It's a side effect of the Dragon Month," Porlyusica finally concluded, that statement alone getting mixed reactions.

 _"What?!"_ Gajeel growled, causing Levy to almost drop her book from surprise at the sudden noise.

"But it isn't supposed to affect them!" Wendy cried, tears still in her eyes despite Romeo already having woken up. Said boy knew she was already blaming herself, so he shyly placed his hand on hers.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Both Natsu and Laxus echoed, their eyes set on their respective mates.

Porlyusica sighed. "It would seem that the two of you are stronger than expected. The seriousness of the sickness depends on how strong your mate is and how strong _you_ are," she explained. "I suspect that Mirajane will wake up soon, since she pretty much matches you in strength, Laxus." She set her eyes on Natsu, who was still staring at the blonde. "As for Lucy..."

"No, she'll wake up," he told her, a bit absentmindedly. "She managed on her own in Tartaros while getting all of us out at the same time; if she can do that, then she's definitely strong. Not that you'd need that as proof."

"Her kicks are strong enough as is," Happy flinched.

Porlyusica smiled. "I guess you're right. You shouldn't worry though, this is just like all the other symptoms, it either lasts for a day or two at the most. If they don't wake up today then they will tomorrow. As long as you stay by their side it should speed up the recovery," she set her eyes on all the Dragon Slayers present in the room. "That goes for _all_ of you."

Porlyusica wouldn't tell, but she wasn't worried about _Lucy's_ strength, she was worried about the fact that she didn't know Natsu's.

* * *

 _"Kagura!_ Kagura, wait!" Millianna rushed across the streets, hurriedly following her friend who was heavily leaning against the walls while trying to continue walking. The Binding mage quickly caught up to her and grabbed her arm, being a lot gentler than she normally was (which was...still pretty gentle) and holding her up for support. "Kagura, you need to stop this! Come on, let's go back," she urged, making sure to cover the trembling mage's body with her own to protect her.

"N-no, he needs t-to q-quit being s-so stupid!" She gasped out, flinching as a ray of sunlight hit her and Millianna was quick to sidestep so that no type of light whatsoever could touch her.

"Kagura, you can't even be in the light for crying out loud! How are you going to find him if you're passed out?!"

"I am _not_ w-weak."

Millianna sighed. "I know you're not, but that doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself even more."

"He's...an...idiot..."

"He just doesn't want to see you in pain like this."

"Well that doesn't mean he can just leave me alone like that!" She hissed angrily, some of her strength returning due to her extensive stay in the shadows thanks to the cat girl. After those words left her mouth and she realized just _what_ she had said, she retracted immediately, her face flushing. "I-I mean-" she huffed, regaining her emotionless composure easily and looking away. "He just needs to suck it up and deal with it."

Millianna smirked, but decided not to comment on her sudden change of emotions. Kagura was stubborn, that much was clear, there was no way she'd admit that she wanted to be near Rogue. It was a side effect of what was currently happening, a side effect the black haired girl _despised._ "Fine then," she looked around, eyes focusing on the line that separated the shadows from the light a few inches from them before turning back to Kagura. "If you have enough strength to push me into the light, I'll let you go to Sabertooth without saying anything. If you can't, then I'm taking you back home, if you want to, or not."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "You _saw_ what I did to Ophiuchus, right?"

The brunette shrugged. "Then do it."

The gravity mage eyed her warily, before placing a hand on her chest and pushing with all her strength. She was actually thinking of holding back at first, since this was _Millianna_ and her using her full strength could very well send the girl into a hospital; but since she could feel her power draining by the second, she had no other choice; so she did.

...Which resulted in the cat girl not even budging an inch.

"See? You don't even have the power to push _me!"_

Kagura huffed. "I'm still going."

Millianna's shoulders lowered and she sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to take you by force then, please don't make me do this."

Kagura didn't respond, instead, she turned her back and started walking.

 _"Kitty-"_

"Kagura?"

Both girls froze in their actions, with Millianna dropping her magic. She hesitantly took a step forward, Kagura was _way_ too close to crossing the border of the shadows.

Said woman's eyes narrowed and she placed a shaky hand on Archenemy, ready to draw it as she glared daggers at the man in front of her.

Rogue took one look at her and flinched as if _he_ was the one in pain instead of her. "You know you shouldn't be out in the daylight right now."

"You know you shouldn't have ran off like that!" She shot back irritably, taking a step forward, and just like that; all her power drained from her body. When the first ray of sunlight hit her skin, Kagura could already feel the burning pain starting again and she lost her balance, mentally cursing at the irony of it. She was a _Gravity_ mage, damn it!

Rogue reacted quickly and caught her before she could hit the ground, helping her stand straight again as he walked her into the shadows. Why did she have to decide _now_ to come and look for him? _On the sunniest day of the week?_ "I'm sorry."

She glared at him.

He sighed. "Let's get you out of here-"

Kagura stood straight and pushed him away from her, or, well, _tried_ to. "I don't _need_ your help," she growled in annoyance, crossing her arms. "I can take care of myself."

"Kagura, just go with him," Millianna pleaded, pouting. "It's better for your health."

"I don't-"

Millianna widened her eyes in an adorable expression. _"Please?"_

"...Fine." She leaned closer to Rogue, avoiding to make eye contact with anyone and outright _refusing_ to accept the fact that she felt a bit better now that she was near him. Stupid Dragon Month, she hated it; even if he tended to be extra lovable during those days, she still hated it...probably...maybe...most likely...no.

Rogue smiled down at her, pretending not to notice the way she snuggled into him before saying goodbye to the cat girl and blending into the shadows.

* * *

"What should we do, Master? We can't just leave her like this!" Macao whispered frantically as they stood in front of Kinana's room. "Wendy is too busy taking care of Romeo at the moment, so we can't-"

"Even if she wasn't, I doubt that she would have been able to do anything," Makarov cut in, voice and expression grim as he tried to think of what to do. "Kinana may very well have the worst pain out of them all due to the fact that Cobra uses Poison Dragon Slayer Magic, she's filled with poison at the moment." He sighed, it wasn't the best feeling; seeing one of his children suffer so much without being able to do anything. With Romeo, Lucy, Levy and Mira it wasn't that bad, since they had their respective Dragons taking care of them. But with Kinana...

"All we can do is check on her and hope for the best," Macao sighed, before pushing the door open and paling when he realized what was in there; or rather, what _wasn't._ "Kinana is missing!"

 _"What?!"_ Makarov rushed into the room, freezing when he saw the lone bed completely empty, the sheets ruffled at the foot end. His attention drifted to the open window blowing air into the room and he smiled, relaxing as he stared into the night sky. "She'll be fine," he concluded, turning his back and walking away.

Macao blinked in surprise. "But Master-"

"She's right where she needs to be." He decided not to tell the fifth master about the two figures he spotted on the roof across from the building they were in; one of them carrying the other and holding her close.

* * *

 ** _In case you were wondering about the girl's symptoms for this little thing:_**

 ** _Lucy: Highest fever in the world, like high enough to_** ** _burn_** ** _food on._**

 ** _Mira: Just imagine Pikachu; it works with her cute appearance. (Only she can't control the electricity and would occasionally zap people)_**

 ** _Levy: Believe it or not, she'd ironically be some sort of mega magnet XD_**

 ** _Romeo: He'd fly, he'd flat out fly because of the air pressure._**

 ** _Kinana: Like Lucy, she'd just get really sick because SOMEONE *cough* Erik *cough* is legit poison. Just with Kinana it's six hundred times worse._**

 ** _Yukino: Uh..._**

 ** _Kagura: Can't come in contact with ANY source of light or else it'd be a direct power drain._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

 _Dragons hate their opposite element_

"Come on, let's go!"

"It's raining."

"So?"

"I'm not going out."

Lucy huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "It's never bothered you before!"

"But now it's different!" He shot back, stubbornly crossing his arms as he dropped himself to the ground.

The blonde sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to keep her patience. "Natsu, we're supposed to bring back an ancient relic. _The exact same relic that just got stolen from us!"_

"It's still raining, Luce."

"He's a hopeless case," Happy muttered, snickering behind his paw as the Fire Dragon Slayer started yelling at him.

"Oh, for the love of- here!" She took out a silver key. _"Open, gate of the Clock Constellation: Horologium!"_

* * *

"Just take it."

 _"No."_

Kinana sighed, the spoon with the thick, reddish liquid still in her hand. "Erik, you're sick, just do it."

"I don't _get_ sick."

"You're running a fever!" She exclaimed, slowly losing her patience but still trying her best to keep calm. _"_ _Please_ , Erik," she pleaded softly.

He sighed. "Kinana, I'm a _Poison_ Dragon Slayer. Medicine and I don't _work_ togeth- mmph!"

And just like that, Kinana promptly shoved the spoon into his mouth; causing him to cough and sputter while cursing. All the while with her smiling apologetically at him.

* * *

Yukino tiredly opened her eyes when she heard rustling in her apartment, glancing at the clock and groaning when she saw how early it was.

She carefully climbed out of her bed, eyes still adjusting to the dark as she managed to find her way to the door. When she opened it, however, she instantly got blinded by the bright light coming from the living room.

The white haired Celestial wizard covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through her fingers and was blinking in surprise when she saw the person standing there. "S-Sting?"

At his name, the White Dragon Slayer froze; standing right in the middle of the bright light in the room. "...Hey...Yukino. Did I wake you up?" He drawled out, trying his best not to look suspicious.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Why are you hanging up lights in my apartment?"

"Uh..."

 _"Sting."_

Her soft voice was stern and he flinched. "I...uh...Rogue was irritating me so I left and came here but it was too dark?"

Yukino rolled her eyes and turned around, deciding it was _way_ too late for this and that she'd just deal with it tomorrow.

...

Meanwhile, Kagura found that all her lights and candles had mysteriously disappeared.

* * *

 _Bonus:_

"Juvia is sorry!" The water mage exclaimed, staring guiltily at a shrieking Natsu who was currently dripping with water after accidentally being hit by her magic.

Lucy sighed and tiredly waved her hand in the blue haired girl's direction. "It's fine, he's been like this all day."

 _"IT BURNS!"_ The Fire mage shrieked uncharacteristically. "I DON'T CARE HOW, BUT IT BURNS!"

"Natsu, _you use fire magic!"_

 _"It still burns!"_

Juvia stared at the two with wide eyes, not really sure what was going on. "Juvia...Juvia is going to leave now..."

"NATSU, WATCH OUT! YOU'RE GOING TO FALL IN THE-"

He stumbled backwards and fell right into the fireplace, nearly knocking over Cana as he went. (Who didn't really notice - nor care - since she was too busy drinking a vat full of alcohol.)

The Fire Dragon Slayer looked up, completely at ease as he sat in the burning fireplace. "Oh, look, it stopped burning."

* * *

 _ **Jeez, this is probably the shortest one yet**_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

Lisanna Strauss has always hated seeing him upset.

It just felt weird, Natsu was known to be always pulling crazy stunts; smiling while he was doing so. So seeing him upset had always been something she tried to avoid at all costs. When she was brought to Edolas, the only things that had been on her mind were Mira, Elfman, and Natsu, and she had to admit that even when meeting Edolas versions of them had eased her worries a bit; in the back of her mind, the worry was still there.

And when this strange, rude, but lovable girl called 'Lucy' had entered the guild, dragging a trembling Natsu with her; Lisanna figured that something similar was happening in Earthland and that she had one less thing to worry about.

So when all of them suddenly showed up in Edolas; she had been happy to see how close the two were to each other. She didn't fail to pick up on how protective the Fire Dragon Slayer was of her, and how much the blonde worried for him in return. It made her feel...at peace; at least he hadn't been upset all those years because of her apparent 'death', someone had come and made it easier for him to handle.

Then she had come back and everything seemed to be back to normal; and when Gajeel had told on him, even she hadn't been surprised about it. Anyone who had been around the couple for about half an hour could see it.

When Lucy had passed out all of a sudden, the youngest of the Strauss siblings could clearly see the worry and pain in her friend's eyes, and she knew that nothing could cheer him up unless she had woken up. By now, even her sister had already gotten up, lightly scolding Laxus for being so rude to Porlyusica while she was still passed out. The side effects were a bit funny, with Mira constantly apologizing for zapping people, and Wendy frantically running after Romeo as he flew around the guild; but even then anyone could sense that something was wrong with Fairy Tail's usually happy aura.

Natsu hadn't left her side for even a second, even when Erza threatened to take him by force so he could rest a bit. All he had done was flinch slightly (because no one in their right mind would go against Titania) but he had still refused to leave.

But, even when only Lucy waking up could bring him back in his usual mood; Lisanna still had to try.

The white haired mage got up from her seat and cautiously made her way towards the infirmary, making sure to stay clear of Levy since the Solid Script mage attracted all sorts of metal at the moment and Lisanna's belt buckle was made from iron.

She gently pushed the door open, and the sudden way his body tensed up alerted her of the fact that he had already sensed her presence. But still, she kept quiet as she closed the door behind her and grabbed a nearby stool to sit on; watching the blonde with worried eyes.

Finally, after minutes of uncomfortable silence, Lisanna sighed and straightened up to look at him. "Relax, I'm not going to try and get you out of here," she clarified, smiling when he finally relaxed.

"How's Mira?"

"She's fine, a little static, but otherwise fine."

His slight smile was the only response she got to that, causing them to fall into silence again.

"Lucy told me something once, you know," she started, not failing to notice the slight twitching of his ears; startling her a little. "Me, Mira, Levy and Juvia were talking and she was complaining about how possessive you could be sometimes; said that you were a little overprotective too."

He scoffed. "I'm a dragon, what'd she expect?"

Lisanna chuckled. "She said that too, we kinda forced her into admitting she liked it. But then she said something - and she probably won't appreciate me telling you this - but she said that she was worried about you."

Natsu blinked and turned to look at her, surprise written all over his face. "Why would she be worried about me?"

"Aside from the obvious?" She joked and he rolled his eyes. "She's worried _because_ of your overprotectiveness."

"How does that even make sense?!"

"If you would just _listen,"_ Lisanna huffed, her tone turning annoyed and he quickly shut up because making her upset meant having Mira and Elfman on his back. "She said that you always tend to forget the important things whenever she's in danger; and she hates it."

"I don't get what you're saying."

"She's scared, Natsu."

He blinked, and Lisanna couldn't help but smile at the confused look on his face. "Of what?!"

"You; specifically you protecting her and getting hurt in the end." She clarified. "She knows you know that she can handle herself, but the fact that you put yourself in danger every time for her scares her. Mira and Levy tried to convince her that it was your instincts making you impulsive, and that Laxus and Gajeel act the same, but she's still worried sick."

He stayed silent, turning his gaze back to the unconscious blonde.

"She worries too much," he finally spoke, and she rolled her eyes.

"Does she?"

A tired groan coming from the blonde interrupted their conversation, effectively alerting them of her waking up at the same time. Her brown eyes tiredly flew open; and Lisanna could almost instantly feel the unnaturally high temperature coming from her, the effects of the sickness still pretty high. And she could feel it, if the white haired mage had to take note of the way she was already starting to sweat.

"Na...tsu...?" Her vision cleared up a bit and she spotted the other person in the room. "Lisanna?"

"Lucy!" Both of them echoed, only one of them rushing to her aid, since Lisanna would most likely end up accidentally getting burned by the heat coming from her body.

"Why is it so hot in here?" She questioned, allowing her mate to help her sit up, even if she could do so herself. Lucy kicked off the blankets, but that didn't seem to do anything against the heat at all.

The Fire Dragon Slayer suddenly looked a bit guilty, she was nearly panting by now. "It's because of me," he admitted. "The symptoms went to you guys this time, and you're burning up because of it. I'll go and see if Gray could help."

"No need," Lisanna cut in as he started to move. She knew he didn't really want to call the Ice mage for help; the tone in his voice explaining enough. "Porlyusica said that she should be fine as long as you stay near her, right? I think you going to get Gray would just make the heat even worse since you'd be apart from her. Maybe you should try staying with her, and if that doesn't help I could go and get him?"

The Fire mage opened his mouth to respond, stopping when he felt a familiar hand slipping into his. He turned to see Lucy smiling up at him, her breathing back to normal.

"She's right, I feel a bit better now," she tugged lightly on his hand, indicating for him to sit next to her.

"I'll go tell the others you're awake," Lisanna spoke, smiling softly as she got up and walked out the door.

She really didn't have to worry about him being upset anymore.

* * *

"This isn't fun!" Wendy groaned miserably, heavily leaning against a blushing Romeo and effectively keeping him from flying around as she tried her best to keep her lunch down.

Lucy sighed and smiled sympathetically. "I know, but it'll be over soon."

Currently, both Wendy and Natsu felt utterly _miserable,_ the train trip doing bad things for their health. There had been a job that specifically called for the two of them; and since Gray and Juvia already went on a different job and Erza was busy on a solo-mission, it was just them.

At least, that was what they intended.

Even if it wasn't as much of a problem as it was before; the effects were still there. Romeo still kept occasionally flying and Lucy's temperature was still boiling; even if she wasn't bedridden anymore. But still, the two had _insisted_ on tagging along, not bothered in the slightest by their mates' protests. And when they stated that their side-effects would fade faster when they were with them; the two really had no more room left to argue.

So now, the pink-haired fire breather was sprawled over Lucy's lap; looking greener than Freed's hair and not bothered at all by her burning temperature as she calmly read a book (one Gray had encased in ice so it wouldn't burn as easily), while gently running her fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp in an attempt to ease his suffering a little. "Still think I shouldn't have come along?" She muttered, eyes cast downwards so she could look at him.

"It's still," _don't puke, don't puke, don't puke,_ "dangerous." He managed to gasp out.

The blonde Celestial mage rolled her eyes. "And all the other jobs we went on weren't?"

"Yeah, but you weren't prone to faint-" his cheeks bulged and he quickly scrambled up and to the window to empty the contents of his stomach instead of on Lucy's shoes since he didn't really plan on getting killed tonight. "Ugh, _make it stop!"_

"Want me to knock you out?" Romeo asked, seeing an opportunity to help a friend while keeping his mind off how close Wendy was at the moment. He raised his fist, purple flames dancing around it.

"Yes."

 _"No!"_ Wendy's hands came up and grabbed his arm; careful to stay clear of his flames as she weakly pulled his arm back down. Normally she probably would have fractured his arm by accident, since the Dragon Month tended to enhance her strength even more than it already was; but right now, he felt nothing. "That's just mean," she mumbled, using her other hand to cover her mouth and prevent herself from throwing up like Natsu had done a second ago.

The Rainbow Fire mage sighed. "Sorry, Natsu."

The only response he got was a miserable whine.

"Wow, he's even more pathetic than usual," Happy snickered as he walked into the train car while Lucy just scoffed and pulled the Dragon Slayer back down into her lap; still annoyed from his previous words.

Natsu glared at the blue Exceed, who had taken place across from them, but couldn't do any more than that.

 _Carla,_ on the other hand, had just simply walked in with a sigh and seated herself next to Wendy; looking sympathetically up at the young girl.

Lucy sighed, putting the book down since the ice was starting to melt and she didn't want to risk burning her book. She looked down at the Fire mage lying in her lap, her lips curling into a soft smile as she watched him. She had known from the beginning that he was something special, and quite a handful, but it hadn't made him any less lovable.

She gently brushed his hair out of his face, causing him to look up at her with what he _assumed_ to be a questioning look; but seemed more miserable than anything else. The blonde didn't seem bothered at all by that though, instead, she just leaned down and lovingly pressed her lips against his forehead before leaning back and continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

"She _loooovvess_ you," Happy sang, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

It was going to be a _long_ trip.

* * *

Yukino walked into the guild, blushing as everyone but Sting, Rogue and Lector hurried to cover their eyes to protect them from the blinding light coming from her. While Sting seemed to be perfectly fine; not affected at all by the light, Rogue just morphed into the shadows and Lector stood contently beside his best friend, a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes.

"I'm sorry!" The white haired Celestial mage exclaimed, ducking her head as she walked further into the guild.

"It's okay, Yukino, it's not your fault," Lector comforted, handing a matching pair of sunglasses to his friend.

Frosch slipped the sunglasses on, before looking up and smiling brightly. "Fro thinks so too!"

"Besides, it's already fading," Sting added with a shrug, throwing an arm over her shoulder to pull her closer; smirking slightly at the blush coating her cheeks. "I'm pretty sure you'll be okay two days from now or so."

"Y-you think so?"

"The fact that we can protect our eyes with our hands proves it," Minerva cut in from across the room. "The light just went through earlier."

Yukino's blush darkened, remembering that all too well. Back then they had turned off every single light in the guild; since she was the only light source they needed. But even then her light had blinded them.

"Speaking of which..." Sting drawled, turning his head to look at his best friend. "Rogue, shouldn't you be going somewhere? You know how stubborn she is, she isn't going to stay indoors on her own."

From the shadows, Rogue sighed. "As if she's going to listen to me," but, despite his words the shadows started to move towards the doors, Frosch hopping after him and Yukino tried her best not to feel guilty for causing him so much trouble that he needed to stay in the shadows.

The girl let out a soft sound of surprise as Sting's arm around her tightened before she was pulled into his chest, both of his arms wrapped around her and practically caging her in place. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" She asked, tilting her head to look up at him.

"Feeling guilty," he clarified, voice sounding annoyed as he averted his gaze. "If anyone should feel guilty, it's me for causing this."

"You can't help it-"

"Neither can you."

Yukino halted her protests and blinked up at him, not really sure how to argue against that. She felt something tug on the end of her cloak, and she looked down to find Lector smiling up at her.

"None of us mind, you know," he started, shrugging. "So what if we need to adapt a little? It really isn't a problem."

Yukino smiled, and nodded, allowing herself to relax in her mate's arms.

They were right, she really _was_ making this a bigger issue than it really was.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Conbolt-is-fire beta'd this_**

* * *

 _Dragons are fast creatures_

"Juvia thinks that Gajeel should go check on Levy."

"And just why would I do that?" He responded gruffly, completely unfazed by her sudden comment. He was just glad that she wasn't rambling on about the Stripper like she usually did.

The water mage rolled her eyes. "Because she's not feeling well and it's Gajeel's fault."

He paused for a second, staying unusually silent as his dark eyes scanned the area, stopping to watch Levy slumped over the table; looking extremely dizzy as Lucy rubbed her back sympathetically and Lily was standing in front of the sick girl. "She's with Bunny Girl," he finally spoke; sounding as if he couldn't give a damn. And anyone _else_ would have believed it, anyone _but_ Juvia. Gajeel had always been one of her closest friends; even back in Phantom Lord. She knew every little quirk of his; including his frequent mood swings and how he'd try his best to sound uncaring.

"Juvia knows Gajeel cares; you wouldn't have told her about her being your mate if you didn't," she stated simply, looking a little bit pleased with herself but oddly enough managing to keep her stern but somewhat caring expression.

He scoffed, acting as if her words sounded utterly ridiculous to him. "Just what the hell do you know, woman?!"

"A lot," she shot him a meaningful look and he averted his gaze; taking an irritated sip from the iron-infused whiskey. Even if the Element Four and Gajeel had all kept their distance from each other back in Phantom Lord; barely acknowledging each other during that time, there was no mistaking that the tiny, eccentric, blue haired water mage knew quite a lot about him; something she liked to remind him of from time to time.

He hated it.

But what he hated even more was the sound of Levy groaning pitifully while clutching her head and complaining about a killer headache.

"Let's just say I _would_ follow your stupid advice - which I ain't - what do ya suggest I do then?"

Juvia smiled slightly, keeping her mouth shut as she thought of all the possibilities; all the while ignoring the two remaining Dragon Slayers zipping through the guild, since Mira had her arm firmly planted on Laxus' shoulder to keep him from mimicking Natsu and Wendy while Gajeel had already cooled off and didn't seem to have that much of a problem...anymore.

The ridiculous speed they had gotten that day was the exact cause of Levy's current dizziness, since the Iron Dragon Slayer had decided that she was moving too slow on their way to the guild and threw her over his shoulder; not anticipating his instincts to kick in at that moment, causing him to move with speed that could only be described as faster than Jet by tenfold.

"Maybe you should take her out?"

He scoffed. "Ain't happening, Rain Woman."

Juvia puffed her cheeks in annoyance at the old title that he had managed to turn into a dreaded nickname. Before she could voice her thoughts though, he had already cut in.

"Should I actually be listenin' to advice from a damn stalker?"

"Juvia is _not_ a stalker! And even if she was, Gray-sama wouldn't mind!"

Gajeel smirked playfully. "Sure you're not," he ducked his head just in time for a certain pink-haired fire breather to fly over him before sitting back up as if nothing had happened.

The blue haired water mage narrowed her eyes, subtly flicking her hand upwards and looking at him with innocent eyes as a squirt of whiskey blasted into his face and she quickly pulled her leg back to make sure Wendy could zip past without tripping and hurting herself.

"Fine then," Gajeel grabbed his glass, bringing it to his lips and chugging the contents of it down in one go, iron bolt included. He got up and stormed out of the guild, grumbling to himself about stupid women and such.

Juvia smiled warmly, already knowing he was going to do something sweet; even if he tried his best to deny it.

...

That night, Levy found all of her books - including the newly bought ones - stacked neatly and in alphabetical order on her giant bookshelves; along with a steaming cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream at the top waiting for her.

The only indication she got of him ever being there was the open window. But, nonetheless, she smiled and whispered a 'thank you' before taking a seat in front of the fireplace.

* * *

 _Dragons are impulsive_

 _"Laxus!"_ Mira burst through the infirmary doors, her voice cracking a bit as she called out his name in worry.

"You stupid, _stupid_ man!" She cried out when she reached him; hands hovering above his bruised and somewhat broken body, unsure if she should touch him or not. "Why would you _do_ that?!"

He glanced at her for a second, before crossing his arms and turning to look at the window, his jaw clenched. He tried to ignore the white-hot pain that shot through his body at the subtle actions, but she had already picked up on the way his breathing turned uneven for a second there and she sharply pulled her hands back; not sure of what to do.

"Someone needed to protect the guild," he spoke, maintaining the same uncaring and annoyed tone he always used.

Mirajane stepped back just slightly, trying to come up with a counter to that even while knowing fully well that there was nothing she could say. After all, _she_ had been the one to scold him for not caring about the guild in the first place. And while that had been a while ago and he had long since proven that he had changed, the words still seemed to echo in his mind.

It made her wonder, had he known about her being his mate back then?

The woman stayed silent, just watching his features with unshed tears in her eyes as she scanned over all the cuts and bruises scarring his body. Wendy was currently on her way back from a mission, along with the rest of Team Natsu, so it could take a while before she would be able to heal him.

The white haired Takeover mage had to admit; she had been _terrified._ She had just come back from a day of shopping for the guild with Elfman, only to see her little sister in hysterics and heading straight for her; nearly in tears as she explained the situation. The Thunder Legion was nowhere in sight either, having gone after the culprit that had tried to attack Fairy Tail in an attempt for revenge.

Elfman had left the guild shortly after, stating that if the person was able to get _Laxus_ down then the others needed backup from 'a real man'; ironically taking Cana with him.

"Mira."

Her head snapped up and she quickly brought her palms up to wipe at her tear-filled eyes. "Y-yeah?"

He still wasn't looking at her, but his voice had turned thoughtful as he spoke. "I know you can't help but be mad at me, but I want you to know; I'm doing this to make up for what I did." _And because I care._

The room went silent, not even the sound of her breathing could be heard, worrying him a bit. Before he could turn his head to check on her though, he suddenly felt the bed dip and a presence looming over him.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer had the sudden urge to lean back into the bed as far as possible; wanting nothing more than for the sheets to swallow him whole instead of having to face her wrath.

Mira was hovering over him, her knees on either side of his body and her hands placed beside his head; making sure not to touch him so she wouldn't further irritate his injuries. Her head was down and her eyes were hooded, but from his position below her, he could clearly see the slightest of red tints in her eyes and he resisted the urge to gulp.

 _Oh, he'd done it now._

"You're doing this...because of what happened in the past?" Her voice had darkened a considerable amount, and the urge to become one with the sheets was just _slightly_ getting bigger. "Because of what? You think we haven't forgiven you?!"

"Mira-"

 _"No!"_ She growled, head snapping up to meet his eyes, a dangerous expression crossing her face. "We've forgiven you, Laxus. _Nobody_ here holds a grudge against you! We're a _family!_ That means we look after each other despite all the mistakes we make!" She hissed, the dark look in her eyes slowly disappearing in favor of something much sadder. Mirajane gently placed her hands on his cheeks, making sure to stay clear of his injuries as her voice turned soft. "You need to understand that, Laxus," she whispered, slowly placing her forehead against his.

Laxus stared up at her face, unsure of what to do; until finally, he nodded, and Mira couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Rogue had always known that there was more to her than just the warrior.

But, despite that, he still found it mesmerizing to watch her just being... _her._

The way she'd sit down with her legs crossed, carefully unsheathing Archenemy before wiping it down with so much precision and grace it almost looked unreal. Hell, no one was _supposed_ to look that graceful while wiping down a sword that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

Another thing he found interesting was the way she cuddled and took care of Frosch, and the green, frog-like Exceed didn't seem to mind one bit.

She also liked to read in her spare time, mostly books about strong female characters or something family related; but he's caught her reading a romance book once or twice.

She was protective too, especially when it came to people like Millianna. On the rare times that she allowed the Shadow Dragon Slayer to be present during her team's training; it was easy for him to pick up on how caring she could be. Sure, she knocked her teammates into a wall full force, but he was pretty sure that only him and that chubby girl (what was her name again? He _really_ needed to start learning their names) noticed that she'd use her Gravity magic to protect them from as much harm as possible.

He also found it amazing how she managed to keep patient with him, especially during this month. Sure, she'd act annoyed most of the time; not to mention stubborn and absolutely _refusing_ to be near him if one of his...ah... _episodes_ affected her in some way. But, by the end of the day, she'd still be by his side to help him; and he admired that about her.

"Rogue," Kagura spoke calmly, shifting through a large stack of paper. "How many times have I told you to stop staring?"

The Shadow mage snapped out of his thoughts, his cheeks turning a few shades darker. Right, she was observant, too. "Uh..."

The Gravity mage sighed, turning to face him. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"I...uh...I..." the Dragon Slayer made a snap decision, morphing into the shadows and disappearing before she could question him any further.

Kagura's lips twitched up just _barely,_ as if she didn't know what he had been thinking about. Frosch had told on him a _long_ time ago.

* * *

 _ **Why are there so many tsunderes in Fairy Tail? Seriously; Gray, Gajeel, Lucy, Evergreen etc.**_

 ** _I'm sensing a pattern here_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Conbolt-Is-Fire beta-ed this_**

* * *

Porlyusica sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, her patience slowly wearing thin as she suddenly started to remember why she disliked humans so much. "Natsu, you _need_ to focus."

 _"I'm trying!"_ The Fire Dragon Slayer hissed back, quite irritated with both himself and everyone else. Himself because he wasn't able to do such a simple task; and everyone else because they were pressuring him.

"Try breathing calmly, like Wendy and Gajeel are," she motioned towards the two Dragon Slayers; the former had her eyes closed and was seated on the ground, taking slow and deep breaths, the air around her shifting occasionally until it seemed to move in unison with her breathing. Slowly, the wind started to pick up around her, the once gentle breeze getting harsher and faster; but still in her control. It kept picking up speed and the trees were already starting to rustle, until slowly, the wind changed course, heading straight for Wendy and gently lifting her up into the sky.

Her eyes popped open, a wide smile on her face. "Hey, it actually worked!"

Gajeel, on the other hand, was just leaning against a tree; brooding as usual with his arms crossed. It would've been a perfectly normal picture, if it hadn't been for the fact that he had encased himself entirely in iron without any trouble, while Natsu struggled to do something as simple as his Fire Dragon Iron Fist without accidentally burning everything in his path...more so than usual.

"Show offs," he grumbled while Porlyusica rolled her eyes.

Laxus had gone off to do his training elsewhere; preferably someplace with a lot of lightning, stating that acting as a lightning rod was a good way to practice for him. And, just to be certain, both Makarov and Mira had gone with him.

Cobra...Cobra was a special case; it was hard to track him down because of his constant travelling around, so they couldn't get a hold of him in time for the Dragons' weekly training. Currently, Kinana was trying her best to contact him, attempting to pinpoint his location while at it.

And while they hadn't gotten a progress report from Laxus yet and Cobra was obviously out for the day, it was easy to say that the pink-haired fire breather was the one having the most trouble with all this.

It was no secret that he was the least in control out of all of them, which was kind of logical in its own unique way; since fire was both unpredictable and uncontrollable. The element's characteristics had been projected on to him, but, despite that, it was also the reason why he was the one who needed the most training.

But frankly, it was getting him agitated, and the angrier he got, the more out of control his flames were.

Still, he knew that there wasn't any other option if he wanted to maintain in control.

"Just... just try to clear your mind a bit," the elderly woman cast her eyes away, muttering the last part under her breath. "Shouldn't be such a hard thing for you to do."

Natsu scoffed, having the slightest suspicion she knew he could hear her and that she had just done that on purpose. Either way, he wasn't going to call her out on it, the woman was one of the scariest ones he had met to date. Come to think of it, a lot of the women he knew were insanely scary in their own, special way. The troubling thing was, most of them were members of Fairy Tail. Either the guild was just that scary, or all of the men were just giant wimps.

He tried not to dwell on the latter for too long.

The fire breather closed his eyes and sighed, soon feeling the familiar feeling of heat rising to his fists. He thought he finally got it... until the flames exploded and destroyed the entire clearing.

Everyone suddenly went silent, and he sheepishly opened his eyes to see the three remaining people unmoving and staring at him with wide eyes.

Until Gajeel started laughing.

Natsu's black eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Are you _asking_ for a fight or somethin'?!" He growled, fists already aflame.

That just made the Iron Dragon Slayer laugh harder, but before Natsu could lunge at him, a _very_ angry and charred-looking Porlyusica had him by the collar, glaring daggers at him.

"Come on, Natsu." Wendy coughed and waved the smoke out of her face, trying her best not to inhale any of it. "Why don't you try thinking of something that makes you happy?"

"His overly sensitive emotions are the _cause_ of this, Wendy," Porlyusica cut in, disapproval clear on her face. "I don't think that's going to be a good idea."

Wendy pursed her lips, brows furrowing as a cute frown appeared on her face while she thought the woman's words through. "Well..." she started. "We could still try! It's proven to be helpful before, so why not now? There's no harm in trying, right Grandeeney?"

Porlyusica stared at her for a few moments, before sighing and nodding. She turned her back and started muttering about incompetent children somehow being right, followed by one of her usual rants on humans as she walked a safe distance away from the Fire Dragon Slayer.

But her precautions turned out to be completely unnecessary.

When she had turned around, she found Natsu leaving the clearing the moment Wendy had turned her back to try and convince Gajeel to stop laughing.

The Dragon Slayer growled angrily, a scowl on his face as he walked through town with his fists clenched. It was ridiculous, all of it. He was supposed to be able to _do_ this, damn it! _Igneel_ had thought him to!

He could feel his flames heating up already, and he quickly tried to calm down by closing his eyes and taking deep breaths; _tried_ being the keyword here.

He felt _terrible._ Normally, just reliving all the memories he had of his father was enough to get his fire going, but now...now even that didn't work.

He kept on walking, ignoring all the people watching him with concerned looks because hey, if he saw someone angrily walking around while literally _steaming,_ he'd be concerned too.

...Okay, he lied. He'd probably try to fight the guy.

He passed the guild, half a mind to enter, before deciding not to. Even he could understand he was unstable at the moment, and, knowing Fairy Tail, there'd probably be another fight and everything'd just go downhill from then on. (He could always try to ignore it, but he would probably last for about three seconds 'cause if he tried to stay docile any longer, he'd probably get his ass handed to him and he absolutely _refused_ to let that happen; especially by the Snowflake.)

Lucy's place was out of the question too, the blonde knew him too damn well and she'd immediately notice something was up.

So he opted for just walking around aimlessly instead. It's not like he'd be doing anything better anytime soon.

"Again!" A familiar voice giggled and Natsu looked up, spotting two familiar figures playing in the park.

Romeo smiled at Asuka, using his Purple Flare to send miniature sized purple nets in the air for her to shoot with her toy gun. But...there was something off about the young boy's magic, the flames seemed to be flickering, especially when Asuka's toy bullet hit them; which was odd, since Natsu knew that the boy's flames could hold their own pretty well.

"Yo!" He greeted, walking over and catching the attention of the two. Asuka immediately having a devilish smile on her face and he almost flinched.

"Natsu!" The girl cried, holding up her toy gun. "Wanna see which one of us can hit the most nets?" Her tone was excited and she was jumping up and down, making him feel a little bit guilty for turning her down.

"Uh...sorry, kid. Not today," he rubbed the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. Normally he wouldn't have hesitated to take her up on that offer; even while knowing fully well just _why_ the young girl had suggested it. Sadly, she just caught him at a bad time.

She pouted and Romeo frowned, looking up at the older Fire mage in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Seriously, was he just stupid or was everyone else in the guild just insanely perceptive?!

But since there was no point in hiding it, the pink haired fire breather just sighed and told the truth. Asuka had already ran off to shoot at random tree leafs, both boys keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't go too far or hurt herself while they were talking. Natsu was glad that his enhanced senses weren't affected by the Dragon month.

Romeo listened quietly, a distant look on his face. "I know how you feel," he muttered, piquing the Dragon Slayer's interest.

Natsu blinked. "Wait, you do?"

"Mhmm," Romeo lifted his hand, a flame igniting almost instantly and Natsu noticed that, again, something was off. His flames weren't as bright as they usually were. "I started learning fire magic because when all of you disappeared, I wanted to protect the guild."

Natsu reached over, ruffling the boy's hair while grinning. "You did a good job, too."

Romeo playfully pushed his hand away, a hint of an embarrassed blush on his face. _"My point is,"_ he continued, ignoring Natsu's snickering in the background. "That thought is what kept me going, I just had to think of everyone's smiles and it'd just light up. But..." he looked away, cheeks a darker color now. "After all of you returned and I started getting closer to Wendy..."

From the corner of his eye and the sound of her footsteps, Natsu could tell that Asuka was coming closer.

"I don't know...my flames just...started burning brighter whenever I thought of her; let alone when she was with me. It was as if...as if just that was enough to ignite the flames."

So _that_ was why his flames seemed a bit odd earlier; he hadn't seen Wendy all day.

The Dragon Slayer smirked and crossed his arms. "Well, I didn't know your little crush went that far."

Romeo's face went scarlet and he hastily tried to deny everything. "W-wait! I wasn't- I didn't mean- I'm just saying that my fire reacts to her, that's all!"

"Fire reacts to her..." Natsu echoed thoughtfully, one of his rare ideas sparking into his head. "Right! Thanks, Romeo!" He bolted, leaving a confused and somewhat flustered young fire mage behind.

"Hey, Romeo," Asuka started and he looked down. "Why haven't you and Wendy kissed yet?"

"Wh- _whaaaat?!"_

* * *

"Guys! He's over here!" Wendy called, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she spotted her brother-figure running up to them.

"Where _were_ you?!" She asked, looking up at him. "We were so worried!"

"Sorry," he responded sheepishly. "I was just-"

"Running like the coward he is," Gajeel snickered and Natsu glared with deadly intentions in his eyes.

"You are _really_ pushing it, Metalhead."

 _"What did ya just call me?!"_

 _"No fighting!"_ Wendy suddenly screeched, stomping her foot on the ground and puffing her cheeks in annoyance; which just made her look all the more cute.

Both Dragon Slayers blinked at her in surprise. Even Porlyusica, who had been watching the scene in silence, seemed to be a little surprised at her outburst.

Gajeel and Natsu stared at her, before glaring at each other and looking away; making no other move to insult each other or fight.

"So," Wendy breathed, regaining her usual smile in no time; which was a bit unsettling. This just proved Natsu's earlier theory of Fairy Tail women being scary, even little Wendy was starting to show signs.

Mavis help them.

"Are you going to try?" She asked, and he paused, before nodding.

Wendy smiled up at Natsu, hands clasped behind her back and urging him to go on. Gajeel had already stopped scowling by now and had his arms crossed as he watched the scene intently.

Natsu sighed, forcing himself to start focusing again. He still thought that this was stupid and a waste of time. _Yes,_ he knew that it was technically necessary, but that didn't make it any less stupid. His control over himself was perfectly fine, the only thing that was noticeable was his possessiveness over Lucy, but even that wasn't that big of a deal.

Sure, he was a bit overprotective and _sure,_ him carrying her all around town to state his claim _may_ have been a bit over the top. But he had a good reason for all of them and she didn't seem to mind...much.

He just couldn't help himself, she calmed yet infuriated him all at the same time. She was annoying and never quite knew how to keep her mouth shut, but for some reason, that just made him want to stay closer to her more. Hell, he was at the point where he'd do stupid things like sneaking into her house - _knowing_ that she'd yell at him - just to hear her voice.

She also made him worry, a lot.

Don't get him wrong, he knew that she could protect herself; she's proven that many times. She's _saved_ him many times, but that didn't stop him from protecting her every chance he got.

And he may sound like a hypocrite while saying this, but she was reckless, and it scared him. _Because who in their right mind would jump off a twenty feet high tower with no chance of escape?!_ Sure, she said she had heard his voice, but that didn't make it any less of a crazy stunt.

But then again, it went both ways. Who knows how many times he's scared her half to death by pulling stunts _twice_ as reckless as hers? Lisanna's words had just confirmed it.

But Lucy was stubborn, neither of them would lose their lives anytime soon if she had a say in it. And he was both perfectly okay with that, and deadly terrified of just _what_ she would do to accomplish that.

"Tch. The Numbskull actually managed to pull it off," Gajeel spit out gruffly, a mildly impressed look crossing his face.

Natsu opened his eyes to see soft flames dancing around his palm, weaving in between his fingers and around his knuckles with ease. Honestly, he's never seen a flame look so peaceful before.

"Told ya I could do it," he taunted, smugly looking up at Gajeel as he killed the flames.

"See? I knew it would work!" Wendy beamed, ignoring the grumbling Iron Dragon Slayer behind her. "What did you think of?"

Natsu looked away. "The guild," he answered, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Gajeel scoffed. "Yeah, right. If the guild has been turned into a certain blonde Bunny Girl and its name's been changed to Lucy, then sure, you were thinking of the guild."

His sarcasm was met by a flaming fist to the face.

As Wendy flinched and tried her best to convince the two to stop fighting, Porlyusica was watching the scene intently, one of her rare, soft smiles on her face. Fairy Tail had always been lively and colorful, even back when she had been a member; and from what she could see, nothing had changed at all.

Not that she wanted it to, anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Conbolt-is-fire beta'd this._**

 ** _The second half is set a few years before the main story._**

* * *

 _A dragon's mate can be protective too_

Just how in the _hell_ had they ended up like this? Bruised, hanging from a cliff, Rogue holding the both of them up while Sting clutched his best friend's leg so he wouldn't fall.

It had gone well at first, the guy they were fighting wasn't that big of a threat for the both of them; his lackeys even less of a problem. They had just backed him up into a corner when...they didn't know, their magic just...disappeared, almost as if it was being drained from their bodies.

And the bastard had taken complete advantage of that, attacking without even a moment of hesitation.

...Which led to their current situation. If Olga ever saw them like this; they'd never hear the end of it.

"So I guess you two were nothing but talk after all, huh?" The man taunted, a sinister smirk on his face as he stepped closer to the edge.

Sting scoffed. "Says the guy who was crying for his mother to come save him a second ago."

 _"Shut up!"_ Rogue growled lowly, but it was already too late.

The man's face reddened comically. "I'll have you know that my mother is a very strong woman!" He yelled in defense, which ironically just made him seem all the more pathetic. "She would have destroyed you!"

"Is that why you punch like an old lady?"

"I do not!"

Rogue sighed and shook his head. "I give up."

The man glared at the blonde Dragon Slayer. "And here I was thinking of letting you two off the hook," he sighed in mock disappointment. "Well, I guess that's not happening now, farewell, you two!" He moved forward, raising his foot and fully intent on stomping on Rogue's hand so the two would fall. Before that could happen though, a figure appeared behind him and a sheathed katana was pressed to his throat.

"I suggest you move away from them now," a feminine voice spoke, sounding anything _but_ amused.

"Kagura!" Rogue called in surprise, and Sting blinked.

"What in the hell is your girlfriend doing here?"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

"As if I'd let a little girl beat me," the man hissed through gritted teeth. "Get her, boys!"

Kagura glanced behind her, her grip tightening on her hostage as she shot an unimpressed look at the group of advancing criminals rushing for her; all holding a certain type of weapon.

Her eyes shifted back to her victim. "As easily as it would be for me to take them down, I have friends too, you know."

 _"Open, gate of the Snake Charmer: Ophiuchus!"_

"What in the hell is your girlfriend doing here?" Rogue echoed.

Sting's eyes widened. "Y-Yukino?!"

The group of men let out a shriek that oddly resembled the scream of a teenage girl as the sky darkened and a massive snake-like creature appeared in front of them. The serpent didn't waste any time, moving in a circle to trap them and hissing whenever they moved or tried to escape. She shot a questioning look at her Celestial Wizard, who got the hint immediately.

"Knock them out, but please try not to harm them too much," she answered the unspoken question.

Ophiuchus hissed at her in what seemed to be agreement, before continuing to circle her body around the group and squeezing until they passed out.

Kagura shifted her attention back to the shivering man, a mildly impressed look on her face. She hadn't seen much of Ophiuchus the first time she met Yukino; since she had defeated the Celestial Spirit before it even had a chance to attack. Still, even from that little display the woman was impressed. It was obvious the serpent was a quite powerful spirit, no wonder Yukino used her as a last resort against Kagura.

"Now," the Gravity mage spoke lowly. "You can either surrender peacefully, or go like your friends. I'm giving you five seconds to choose."

"I surrender!" He screeched almost immediately. The poor man was shaking so much he was going to end up giving himself a whiplash, and Kagura couldn't even tell if he was crying or melting into a puddle because of all the nervous sweat rolling off of him. What she _did_ know was that he was very clearly calling for his mother and that made her roll her eyes.

What a coward.

"Good decision," she muttered, knocking him out with the handle of Archenemy as if it was nothing (which it probably was, to her). She watched with a stoic expression as he dropped to the ground; before setting her judging eyes on Rogue, who had the sudden urge to just let go and fall off the cliff.

She sighed, crouching down and reaching out a hand. The woman grabbed his shoulders, lifting both Dragon Slayers onto the surface effortlessly before standing back up and brushing the dirt off her clothes.

"Sting!" Yukino cried after having thanked Ophiuchus and closed the Spirit's gate. She rushed towards him as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Yukino stopped right in front of him and knelt down to his level to inspect his face for any sign of injury, her delicate hands actively searching his cheeks. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her, smiling down at her. He watched as Rogue fidgeted uncomfortably under his mate's stare, and the White Dragon Slayer was actually surprised when she pulled him up and hugged him tightly. The blonde could hear her mutter a somewhat affectionate 'you idiot' and that's when he decided to stop listening in.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" He questioned.

"Lucy called me," Yukino answered. "She said that Natsu suddenly got drained of his power and that we should keep an eye on you two since she suspected that it might have to do with the Dragon Month."

Kagura pulled away from Rogue, regaining her composure easily. "So she called me and we went to go find you."

Yukino sighed and got up, a slight disapproving look on her face which was just there to cover up her worry. "You scared me, you know."

"Sorry?" He said a bit sheepishly, and she affectionately rolled her eyes.

Sting tensed up, eyes flashing towards the figure slowly advancing on the white haired Celestial Wizard, one of the thugs apparently having escaped Ophiuchus' grasp. He had a weapon in his hands, and Sting's blood ran cold. "Yukino! Watch ou-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had already thrown him over her shoulder, easily disarming the thug and tossing his weapon off the cliff before knocking him unconscious.

"So you really have been practicing your fighting, I'm impressed." Kagura praised as Yukino blushed lightly.

Meanwhile, both Sting and Rogue couldn't believe their eyes; just staring at the girl as if she had grown a second head. "It's unsettling how easy it is to forget that she can fight," Rogue commented.

Sting nodded. "I really wouldn't want to piss her off."

* * *

 _Dragons can be stressful creatures too_

"We're screwed, we're screwed, we're _so_ screw-"

 _"Would you shaddup already?!"_

Natsu stopped his rambling, the grass he was standing on already looking worn down from all the nervous pacing he did. "How are you so calm about this?!"

Gajeel shrugged, casually sitting on the ground with his back against a large tree. "I'm not a wimp," he responded, and Natsu's fire flared to life.

The Iron Dragon Slayer just stared up at him with a smirk; waiting patiently for his next move. He watched as the impulsive fire breather sighed and extinguished his flames, punching a tree in frustration. "She isn't supposed to know yet," he spoke, sounding a bit torn.

"It's not like she'll run away from ya or anything; you'd think she'd have done that by now."

Natsu glared at him. "Says the guy whose voice sounds like gravel."

"Watch it, Numbskull."

"Back at ya, Metalhead."

Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back against the tree with a stoic expression on his face. "I mean, you're stupid, that's obvious. But I'm sure you're not stupid enough to mess up during the month."

It took him a second before the Iron Dragon Slayer realized the sudden heat he felt wasn't because of the sun, but because his hair was on fire.

"Son of a-" he cursed, quickly jumping up while trying to kill the small flames.

"It's not like I'm fully in control during that time," Natsu continued casually; as if he hadn't just set his fellow Dragon Slayer's hair on fire. "You should know that. Seriously; how stupid can you be?"

"Point is," Gajeel growled, glaring daggers at the Fire Dragon Slayer and most likely already planning his demise. "You should've been prepared; didn't that dragon of yours teach you anything?!"

Natsu suddenly looked a bit sheepish. "I'm sure Igneel did, but I wasn't really paying attention all that much."

Gajeel just shook his head, not even able to find the words to describe the idiot in front of him. "If you're worrying so much; do you really think that running from the guild and dragging _me_ with you the moment she entered was the smartest idea? You're just making it worse for yourself," he scoffed.

"Well, what did ya expect me to do?!" The fire breather exclaimed suddenly. "Her scent was _all over_ the place!"

"That's usually what happens when the Dragon Month starts."

"...You're really pushing it, you know that?"

"So? You've been pissing me off since this morning."

"Not my fault I'm stronger than you."

 _"How does that have to do with anything?!"_

Natsu shrugged. "I dunno, stick to the topic, would ya?"

Gajeel blinked. "Wow, either you're pretending or you're just stupider than I thought."

Natsu ignored him. "I should have known this would happen though." He muttered, more to himself this time than to Gajeel. "Even Happy could tell she was something special."

Gajeel raised a studded brow. "That why you took her to the guild then?"

"Nah, back then I was too wrapped up in finding Igneel that I didn't even focus on what she was saying; let alone her scent," he explained, a soft smile on his face as he thought back. "I realized sometime later though."

The Iron Dragon Slayer smirked, muttering something that would've been inaudible to normal people.

Natsu, however, seemed to have no trouble hearing. "What do you mean, _whipped?!"_ He exclaimed. "What about you and Levy?!"

Gajeel shot up, a menacing look on his face that would have most people running for the hills. "How in the hell did you know about that?!" He growled.

The pink haired fire breather just stared up at him with an unimpressed expression. "Dude," he started, completely unaffected by the threatening way his fellow Dragon Slayer towered over him. "It's so _obvious."_

The Iron Dragon Slayer blinked, leaning back slightly. "It is?"

"You're practically her personal bodyguard, bolts-for-brains."

Gajeel's fist shot out, which Natsu just barely managed to dodge. He pushed the taller man away with a little more force than needed. "Get serious for a second!"

Gajeel snorted and sat back down, not having expected the word 'serious' to be in the pink haired idiot's vocabulary. Hell, Gajeel had a feeling he didn't even know what it meant. (Or he must've had some weird, twisted version of the meaning of the word)

"What about you?" Natsu suddenly asked, making him look back up. "Did you know when you first met her?"

He raised an eyebrow in response, as if to say 'what do you think?'

Natsu just blinked at him owlishly, not quite getting the implications of his stare. "What's wrong with your face?"

"You-!" Gajeel sighed and shook his head; deciding that all this wasn't worth the headache. "Dumbass, if I had known, do you think I would've attacked her like that?"

"Well, what excuse could you have had?!" He responded, raising his hands in the air as if _he_ was the one who couldn't understand how his rival's brain worked. "I mean, _I_ had a valid reason; why the hell didn't you figure it out? You must be really dense."

"Coming from you, that's rich."

 _"What's that supposed to mean?!"_

"That you're an idiot."

Gajeel raised his hand and easily caught the flaming fist in his palm; pushing him away with just as much force as Natsu had used a second ago.

"Listen, Salamander," he spoke gruffly. "She's your mate, that's all there is to it. Knowing you and your instincts, you wouldn't let any harm come to her. And, knowing Bunny Girl, she won't just run away because of something like that. So stop whining, because you've got nothing to worry about!"

Natsu scoffed and crossed his arms. "If it's so easy, why haven't you told Levy she's your mate?"

"Mates?" A soft voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Both Dragon Slayers froze dead in their tracks, bodies stilling completely as the familiar voice reached their sensitive ears.

Slowly, both of their heads turned, almost in sync as they turned to face the youngest of the Dragon Slayers staring up at her two brother figures; hands clasped in front of her and a confused look on her face.

"Wendy!" They both echoed in slight horror.

Gajeel was the first to snap out of it. "W-what are you doing here, kid?" He grumbled, a slight stutter to his voice.

 _"We're screwed,"_ Natsu whispered lowly from behind him; color draining from his face.

Neither Dragon Slayer wanted to explain what they just had been talking about, wanting to keep the girl innocent for as long as possible. She was still young, she didn't need to worry about things like these for the time being.

Hell, she was still a _baby_ in dragon standards!

"Everyone is looking for you two," she explained, a slight smile on her face as she said the next part. "So I tried to use my dragon senses and followed my nose!" Her smile faded. "Although...I guess I was successful only because the month is starting so soon..."

Neither of the two reacted, still trying to figure out how to get out of this one.

"But, what's this thing about mates?"

Apparently, Lady Luck wasn't on their side.

"I heard that word once when I was younger, but when I asked Grandeeney about it, she refused to tell me."

 _Of course_ her dragon would have the same mind set as them. Honestly, the boys didn't know if they should be glad the Sky Dragon didn't explain the concept of mates to the young girl, or be upset because this just made their job ten times harder.

"Uhm..." Natsu started, nervously looking for a way out before pushing Gajeel in front of him. "I've never been good at explaining things. So, Gajeel, you tell her!"

His response was an iron club to the stomach.

Wendy flinched. "Uh...guys?"

Gajeel cleared his throat. "Uh, you see, kid. Dragons..uh..."

"You two are pathetic."

All three Dragon Slayers turned to the new voice, surprised to see the fourth Slayer walking up to join them; arms crossed and jacket swung over his shoulders.

 _"Laxus!"_ Both Gajeel and Natsu echoed, never in their life thinking they'd be so happy to see the Lightning Dragon Slayer.

"So you did manage to find them," he muttered, stopping beside Wendy and looking down at her. "Good job, kid," he reached down to pat the top of her head. The blue haired Sky mage looked up at him with surprise, before smiling; a light blush coating her cheeks.

"For some reason, everyone's worrying about the two of you," Laxus started, locking eyes with Natsu. "Especially that blonde of yours."

"Told ya," Gajeel whispered smugly.

Natsu, on the other hand, was focused on the other Slayer's words. "She's not my-"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Sure, so you just ran out and dragged Gajeel with you because you felt like it and not because the month is near and it was affecting you."

Natsu glared at him, half a mind to just punch him in the face. But then again, he was spot on.

"How does Lucy have anything to do with this?" Wendy questioned, eyes flickering between all three men who _refused_ to say anything.

"Nothing you need to worry your little head about, kid," Laxus finally spoke. "Let's just go back to the guild before the Old Geezer pops a vessel."

As they walked back to the guild, with Wendy up front, Natsu locked eyes with Laxus. "You're not going to tell her?"

He scoffed. "Mira'd kill me if I had."

Gajeel shivered. "I figured as much, that woman can be scary if she wants to be."

The Lightning Dragon Slayer's mind flashed back to an event not too long ago and flinched. He'd accidentally gotten in the way of his girlfriend's matchmaking, and the bruise he got from the punch she gave him had stung for a couple of days after.

She'd apologized, of course, but he knew not to do it again.

Laxus shivered. "You have _no_ idea."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Conbolt-is-fire beta'd this**_

* * *

 _Once again...Dragons are protective of their young_

Wendy Marvell was confused.

Sure, the month was still going strong and you could arguably say that her current state of confusion was a result of her dragon instincts messing with her mind, body, soul and magic. Her senses were a mess, and that's fine, because it was normal during this time and day. The first generation of Slayers always tended to get the worst of it due to them technically being the 'originals'; while the third generation had it a little easier and the second generation barely had to worry at all apart from the occasional mishaps that came with being able to use Dragon Slayer magic. And again, that was fine, she had grown used to it.

What _wasn't_ fine, however, was her borderline _obsessive_ attraction to a certain black eyed boy who possessed Rainbow Fire magic. Granted, she wasn't as bad as Juvia- and she was _very_ glad to know that - but it still was a little over the top.

In all honesty, there really wouldn't be any problem with her... _infatuation_ with the boy; and her somewhat possessive tendencies could be easily explained by the Dragon Month influencing both her behavior and feelings. And yeah, her whole body felt as if it were boiling whenever he was near because his scent was nearly _intoxicating_ and she was resorted to an absolute blushing mess because of it. Still, not a problem. (In fact, she finally understood why the boys made such a big deal about their mates' scents)

What made this a problem, however, was the overbearing presence of her three 'brothers'; the fellow Dragon Slayers in the guild. She didn't know how, didn't know why, and Mavis forbid she knew _when,_ but apparently the three Slayers had decided that even if they happened to clash at every single thing that they did; they could all agree that Wendy was their precious little sister and needed to be protected. The whole ordeal with Gray had proven that clearly.

In fact, she'd taken notice of her guild mates' protectiveness many times before. Cana instinctively pulling her back at any sign of danger; both Gray and Erza moving to jump in front of her with protective arms around her waist during the whole Éclair ordeal since Natsu was too far away to do it and was already focused on getting Lucy out of the way.

Wendy noticed little things like these, and she didn't mind since she was one of the youngest now that even Romeo had grown to be older than her during her seven years of unexpected absence and it was only natural for them to be protective. She wasn't quite the baby of the guild since Asuka had already taken that role; but she certainly was the baby of the Dragons and that came with certain mishaps like them actually going as far as to overwork themselves _just_ to scare off every boy that merely _smiled_ at her and make sure they wouldn't be thinking twice of approaching her again.

It wasn't that she wanted the attention of other boys; of course she didn't, she was perfectly content with being with her friends- her _family._ She just wanted - and she convinced herself that this was fully her dragon instincts speaking because she wouldn't _dare_ think of something this embarrassing - the attention of a certain boy named Romeo Conbolt.

"Hey, Wendy! What's up?"

And speak of the _Devil_ his timing was just a little bit too perfect.

Wendy jumped up in her seat with a yelp at his sudden voice, her Sky magic boosting her up a couple of feet higher since it was still a bit erratic and unstable. She managed to calm herself and control it just before her head could hit the ceiling though and landed almost effortlessly back in her seat to find the stunned boy staring at her with wide, blinking eyes at her sudden outburst.

"...Are you okay?" His voice was cautious, as if she could explode at any moment if he wasn't careful enough and she could feel her face heating up in embarrassment.

"N-no! I'm fine!" She squeaked, faintly wondering just what was _wrong_ with her and _where was Carla?_

From the other side of the guild hall, she could hear a certain Exceed with round ears sighing in exasperation while listening to his friend ranting and, from the sound of awkward feet shuffling, Wendy guessed that Carla was lecturing Happy; with Lily as an unwilling witness.

"Hello...? Earth to Wendy?" Romeo slowly waved his hand in front of her face to try and catch her attention. The Sky Dragon Slayer instantly snapped out of her thoughts to turn her attention back on the concerned boy standing in front of her, not knowing how she felt about the fact that she could already feel four sets of eyes burning into her back. She couldn't really see since she was still facing Romeo, but she knew for a fact that Natsu had stopped whatever he had been doing to watch them, Laxus was casually sipping his drink while his hawk-like eyes never strayed from the pair. And Gajeel somehow managed to pull off listening to Levy talking while keeping his ears strained on their conversation all at the same time.

Wendy sighed, inwardly wondering just what she'd do with these three lovable idiots.

The young girl had trouble deciphering the fourth pair of eyes watching her and she blinked in surprise when she finally realized that they were Mira's. Just what was she _planning?_

Nothing good, that's for sure.

"Yeah, I'm here," Wendy replied, smiling sheepishly as she set her eyes back on Romeo and not missing the blush that stained his cheeks. "Sorry."

He coughed awkwardly into his fist, eyes straying away from her while looking a bit uneasy and Wendy guessed that he could feel the eyes too; just didn't know where they were coming from, which was understandable, since there was a Dragon Slayer on each side of the room so the both of them were being watched from _every_ angle if you counted Mira into the mix. Three pairs were watching in just _mild_ hostility for now while one was just watching in amusement, and Wendy picked up on all of that due to her heightened senses at the moment. "Uh...yeah," he started, silently cursing himself for sounding like a broken record. "Are you sure you're alright though? You seem a bit off."

"Honestly, Romeo, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all." No way was she telling him the truth.

He frowned and she sighed, a soft smile playing at her lips since his behavior admittedly was quite endearing. "Relax. It's not like I'm turning into an Ichiya or anything," she teased, giggling as he grimaced; obviously not too keen on the memory.

Her soft giggles stopped when she caught him staring at her intently, eyes absent and distant as they scanned her face almost in trance. She leaned back, face flushing a little as she asked. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"

The response was automatic and she felt really stupid once the words had left her mouth.

His eyes flickered up to meet hers, still absentminded and looking almost as if he was debating something before he softly murmured. "Something like that..." and reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair that had fallen from her twin tails out of her face and behind her ear, his movements slow as his face burned a little too much and Wendy was sure that she was right there along with him, nearly falling off the stool once he had pulled back; absolutely _refusing_ to meet her eyes in pure embarrassment at his own actions.

The young Sky mage tensed up, feeling the familiar (and often comforting, in a weird way) fire starting to burn from where she had sensed Natsu's eyes earlier while insanely powerful lightning sparked from the bar. She couldn't sense anything from Gajeel, making her feel all the more uneasy. She loved them, she really did, but they were just a little overprotective. Just a _little._

Still, despite the dark aura radiating off them and into the guild, Mirajane still had the mind to let out a little squeal.

Wendy managed to regain her composure long enough to hear the young fire mage repeatedly sending apology after apology to her; his face lit up in pure embarrassment and she actually would've smiled if she hadn't been so worried of what the three would do to him. She knew that they wouldn't go as far as they did with the others since this was still _Romeo_ and they actually trusted her with him, but she knew for a fact that they liked making a statement and even he wouldn't be spared from that.

That was, until three certain ladies decided this was the best time to cut in.

Once Mira had stopped her squealing, the she-demon set her annoyed eyes on her mate, whipping out a clean rag from the bar and smacking the Lighting Dragon Slayer on the head with it, not worried at all about the yellow sparks hitting her. Laxus backed down immediately, sensing the dark aura coming from her and he decided that he'd better stay obedient since he valued his life a little bit too much.

Levy, on the other hand, merely sighed before closing her book and nudging Gajeel's side with it to get his attention. He smiled a bit sheepishly when he spotted her glaring face, muttering curses underneath his breath when she told him to just behave and leave the kids alone and that she would be watching him to make sure of it.

And Natsu managed to keep his flames in check enough for a certain busty blonde to stalk closer to him, hands clasped behind her back until she stopped right in front of him and Lucy Kicked him while simultaneously scolding him for his behavior at the same time. She turned to smile and shoot a barely noticeable wink at a stunned Wendy before jogging to catch up with Happy, who had managed to slip away from Carla's clutches and was now frantically flying to where Lucy had kicked his friend.

Women were dangerous creatures.

Wendy couldn't help but smile at her friends, before turning towards an equally stunned Romeo who couldn't understand for the life of him what had just happened.

Although, maybe it'd be best if he didn't.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Just Chelia being adorable and Romeo not knowing what in the hell is going on**_

 _ **Conbolt-is-fire beta'd this**_

* * *

 _Dragon's aren't the only ones with their instincts occasionally running wild_

 _"Wendy!"_ As Chelia all but tackled the young Sky Dragon Slayer, Wendy had to force herself to keep her balance so the both of them wouldn't topple over. She still had the mind to smile and hug her friend back with as much force, though, despite being nearly suffocated in the excited girl's embrace.

"It's been so _long!"_ The pink haired God Slayer complained after having pulled away, a pout playing on her lips and Wendy couldn't help but laugh.

"I know!" She sighed. "I've just been really busy lately, because of the Dragon Month and all."

Chelia flinched at that, knowing all too well how your instincts and magic running wild would feel. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, that's for sure. "Yikes, okay, I get it, that excuse seems valid enough," she joked before letting out a puff of air and leaning back against the bar counter while not-so-subtly flinching back from Blue Pegasus' Ichiya to the best of her ability. She still kept an eye on Ren, though for Sherry's sake, of course.

A gathering of Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel and some of the Crime Sorcière members. Sounded like an absolutely _terrible_ idea to her, but hey, she wasn't about to complain. To Chelia, all of this just seemed fun, even if she knew damn well that this poor building wouldn't be holding up for very long, especially with-

 _"Get back here, ya ice bastard!"_

 _"You sure about that, Flame Brain?!"_

She flinched as Gray's punch landed on Lyon instead of the pink haired fire breather, followed by Juvia taking the opportunity to quickly slip away from the older Ice Make Wizard in an attempt to get back to hers. (Because yes, Juvia had very clearly stated her claim and no one could tell her otherwise. Gray was hers.)

Chelia sighed, an everlasting smile never leaving and she wasn't even surprised to hear the groan of exasperation coming from Wendy. She glanced beside her, smile only widening at seeing her friend cover her face with her hand and mumbling to herself; not very good at hiding the ghost of a smile playing at her lips either.

"So..." Chelia started slowly, smile turning into one of pure mischief that could rival Natsu's and Wendy suddenly felt uncomfortable; the aura coming from the God Slayer spelling out nothing but trouble. "Have you found your mate yet? I mean, it's the season and all."

Wendy choked on her spit, and Chelia hurried to smack and rub her back gently. _"Relax,_ Wendy, it was just a simple question!"

"Don't you mean random?" She coughed, looking up at her with an uneasy smile.

Chelia's eyes twinkled, much like Mira's would and Wendy figured that her earlier instincts had been spot on because whenever Mira got that look in her eye; everyone needed to start running. And fast.

Chelia was much the same.

"So you _did_ find him," she grinned, nearly bouncing from excitement which only grew as the younger girl's face started to flush furiously. Somewhere across the room, she could hear Jellal stuttering nervously as Erza - who may have drunk a little bit too much - came on to him a _little_ too strongly and Chelia's grin widened. Today was just filled with potential couples, wasn't it? From what she had heard (and could see, now that the Dragon Month was going strong) six of the pairings she had been betting on had actually happened; and somewhere prior to the month even Gray had finally given in to Juvia's advances. She only needed to figure out which lucky person had gotten Wendy's attention and then everything would be _perfect._ "Who is it?"

Wendy's cheeks burned even hotter and she quickly looked down and away from Chelia's excited gaze. "N-no one!"

Chelia leaned back and out of her personal space, giving her some room to breathe at the same time. Her wide, dark blue eyes scanned the room, gaze ghosting over Toby who had yet _again_ accidentally stabbed himself and was now writhing on the floor, and the Sky mage couldn't help but roll her eyes at her guild mate. Honestly, sometimes she really wondered what they would do with the poor guy.

Her eyes went over an annoyed looking Lucy, with Levy standing beside her and watching with a sigh. Chelia made sure to keep her eyes on the Fairy Tail members since she doubted Wendy's mate would be in any other guild. Finally, her eyes landed on a boy not much younger than herself; maybe two years or so. He hastily but skillfully ducked underneath a table that was flying his way, before dodging an incoming attack and quickly moving away from the commotion in a way all Fairy Tail members had been forced to learn during their years in the guild. It was necessary if you wanted to stay out of the almost daily fights happening in that place.

As the boy ducked behind Rogue and Kagura, Chelia was quick to notice his eyes just barely look over to where they were standing; lingering on the blue haired Sky mage for just a split second in almost worry and the way her eyes lit up had Wendy stepping back almost nervously. Her cover was blown and there was no denying it.

"Ooooh, he's _cute!"_ Chelia cooed and Wendy could feel her already flushed face heating up by a thousand degrees.

 _"N-no!_ Chelia w-what are you _saying?!"_

Her eyes stayed on the young fire mage, lips twitching up the longer she listened to Wendy deny it. "His name's Romeo, wasn't it?"

Wendy's defenses lowered at his name almost instantly and she glanced over herself, flinching a little as he was just a little too late in dodging and retaliated by a punch himself, essentially dooming him since he now had officially joined the fight. "Yeah..." she murmured absentmindedly, before catching herself and tugging on her twin tails nervously. "W-wait! No! _Chelia!"_

The Sky God Slayer merely laughed at her friend's flustered behavior, lightly yanking on her hair in a purely affectionate way before pulling back. _"Relax,_ Wendy, I'm just playing!" She chuckled, eyes twinkling with mischief before the younger girl could even let out a sigh of relief. "Although...I think I may need to talk to him for a little bit. See ya!"

And before Wendy could even realize or properly process her words, she was already off.

* * *

Romeo sighed, swiftly running a hand through his hair in something akin to mild frustration while passing Kinana and Cobra, lips twitching at hearing his usually kind and quiet guild mate scold the Poison Dragon Slayer for making her worry. From the sound of it and the way the poison user was nervously flinching back, she had been taking notes from Mira.

He shivered. Poor guy.

"Hi, there!"

Romeo jumped about six feet in the air, the most embarrassing and girly screech leaving him and his face lit up almost instantly as he clapped his hands over his mouth, He hoped, _hoped_ that no one from the guild had heard him, because if they had; he was done for.

At hearing the soft giggle coming from behind him, the Rainbow Fire mage forced his erratic heartbeat to calm down before turning to face the person who had unceremoniously given him the scare of his life, blinking at seeing a somewhat familiar pink haired girl only a few years older standing behind him, dainty hand clasped over her lips to hide her giggles. "Sorry," she chuckled. "I didn't mean to scare you that bad."

He coughed awkwardly. "Yeah...I, uh, it's fine." He frowned, eyes scanning her face for a second to try and remember anything related to this odd girl since he was pretty sure he had seen her before. It only took a few more seconds, before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! You're Chelia, right? Wendy's friend?"

At the sound of the blue haired Dragon Slayer's name, her lips twitched up. "Yup!"

"I'm-"

"Romeo, I know," her grin was wide and almost playful, but there was something else hidden there and Romeo quickly glanced back at where she and Wendy had been standing only minutes earlier, the uneasy feeling only worsening when he saw that she was, in fact, gone.

His years with people like Mira and Cana in the guild allowed him to easily pick up whenever someone was about to tease him in a way that would have his face matching Erza's hair, and he regrettably had to admit that he could sense the same thing coming from this girl.

"Oh, would you just _relax?"_ She shoved him back lightly, once again startling him out of his thoughts and he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. "I'm just here to talk a little, that's all!"

"When someone shows up out of the blue for 'a talk', it's hardly a good thing," he mumbled, more to himself than to Chelia, but, of course, she easily picked up on it.

The blue-eyed God Slayer giggled, permanent smile just widening and Romeo blinked as her expression and eyes lit up with delight. "You and Wendy really do match each other!" She reached out, pulling him down with her as she ducked and dodged one of Cana's cards, which was now plunged into the wall behind her and sticking out like a knife. Chelia let go of the startled boy with a kind smile and flinched, watching with pure sympathy as Makarov was spun around mercilessly by her guild master. She really hoped the old man would survive, Chelia knew that she herself just _barely_ had gotten out of the spinning once before.

Romeo's face flushed almost instantly, and he hastily looked away. Wendy, of course, he should have known. He should have, but she still managed to catch him off guard enough for him to lose his ability to speak and was now reduced to nothing more than a stuttering, blushing mess. "W-what? She- I, uh, we're-"

"Oh, you're so _cute!"_ Chelia gushed, either not noticing or not caring about the fact that the boy's face seemed to get redder and redder by the second. But then again, maybe that had been her goal all along. "You two are just so _perfect_ for each other!"

Her tone was loud and excited, and Romeo faltered. "Do you really think so?"

The pink haired God Slayer paused, blinking in surprise at hearing the dejected tone in his voice. She turned to face him, brows furrowing and head slightly tilted in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Romeo tensed, as if just now realizing what he had said, or that he'd said it _out loud._ "I-it's nothing, don't worry about-"

Chelia grabbed his arm, ignoring his yells and protests as she dragged him out of the chaotic building. There was a determined expression on her face, and the poor boy had a feeling his earlier mistake would most likely get him killed.

* * *

"So, basically, you're worried that once the Dragon Month is over, Wendy's feelings will too?"

"D-don't _say_ it like that!" He hissed, refusing to look at her. By now, the young fire mage was sure that his face had been all shades of red by now; and if he had missed a certain shade, Chelia would fix that in no time.

Said girl had dragged him out to the front of the building and had practically forced him to sit down on the bench and explain _everything_ to the last detail, even if it was irrelevant as what he had for breakfast that morning. She was relentless, so he figured he might as well just give in and comply.

But now she was staring at him as if _he_ was the crazy one for even _suggesting_ something like that. Her frown deepened, and she stared out in front of her in complete silence for a moment. Her legs were swinging back and forth absentmindedly, so deep in thought that she didn't even have a reaction to one of the windows breaking from where the fight was _still_ going on.

Romeo decided that he didn't like her being quiet. It made him feel nervous.

"You mean she hasn't told you?"

The Rainbow Fire mage almost jumped. _Almost._ "Didn't tell me what?"

Chelia rolled her eyes. "That her Dragon Instincts don't just go for _anyone!"_

He scoffed. "Yeah, there was this thing about mates and all but even that could be her instincts' doing and- _ow!"_

Chelia let go of his arm, and Romeo rubbed the spot where she had pinched him. "Don't be stupid," she started. "It's not like that. Trust me."

"How would you know?"

"Because believe it or not, God Slayers have their moments too, you know." She smiled, not even giving him the time to respond before she continued. "And mates aren't just chosen by convenience or some weird, magical attraction where you don't have any control over. You choose your mate," she paused. "Though it _is_ true that you sometimes choose without knowing; your instincts only play a role _after_ the mate has been chosen."

Romeo froze. "Then..."

She nodded, briefly turning to look behind her and her smile only widened. Whatever she had seen or heard, Romeo didn't know. "Wendy _chose_ y-"

 _"Chelia!"_ The loud cry was followed by a smaller figure jumping on the laughing Sky God Slayer. Romeo was startled to see a furiously blushing Wendy struggling with her friend in a manner that was half-playful, half-serious, and filled with embarrassment. Finally, the older Sky mage gave in, her back flat on the bench with Wendy on top of her and covering her mouth with her hands. "What did you tell him?" She hissed lowly, not even having the willpower to glance back at him.

Chelia laughed again, motioning towards her hands and Wendy reluctantly pulled back so she could speak. _"Everything,"_ she whispered back, in the same tone Wendy had used earlier. Even from where he was sitting, Romeo couldn't possibly hear what they were saying.

The blush covering the younger mage's cheeks and ears spread across her whole face, and as she started protesting against her friend's actions, Chelia just acted quickly and pushed her off, making sure she half-landed in Romeo's lap before jumping up and running back into the building with a quick. "Bye!"

A second passed, and then-

 _"I'm sorry!"_ The both of them echoed at the same time, quickly scrambling to get some space between each other and consequently ending up on each side of the bench.

The long, awkward silence that followed after was getting unbearable. Romeo started picking at the wood of the bench while Wendy was playing with the edge of her skirt, occasionally shifting in her seat in discomfort.

"So..." Romeo cleared his throat. "Chelia said that-"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Wendy cut in meekly, face flushed in utter _mortification._ She had brought her hands up to cover her face, so she couldn't see that Romeo was, in fact, nearly as red as her. "I'm sorry, I don't know why she likes doing things like that."

"It's okay, though."

"It's not."

His hand fell on top of hers, gently pulling it back from her face. "It _is,"_ he smiled.

* * *

Somewhere from inside the building, Mira and Chelia high-fived each other.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Hey, hey, been a while, hasn't it? ;)_**

* * *

 _Dragons are affectionate creatures_

Lucy speed-read through her latest draft, pen thoughtfully tapping against her temple before she sighed in discontent and scrunched up the paper; tossing it in the waste bin behind her and not bothering to check if it had landed in or not as she went to start over. Again.

She couldn't help it, this particular scene had been bugging her for a while now, and the constant jobs and having to worry about her dragons hadn't really allowed her much time to work on her manuscript. Either way, Lucy was suffering from the worst case of writer's block at the moment; one so severe even consulting Levy hadn't been an option because the Solid Script mage herself was stumped on how to continue this particular setup. Maybe she'd just made this impossible, or maybe she was lacking something in her writing, but Lucy just couldn't solve this particular problem.

Sighing, she dropped her pen and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. It was already getting dark, and surprisingly enough, neither Happy nor Natsu had shown their faces yet. She'd come home to a quiet place for once. Her bedroom hadn't been invaded, her kitchen hadn't been overthrown and her fridge was still the way she'd left it that morning- or week, actually. Lucy knew he was probably just being careful, especially since he hadn't been showing any symptoms in a while now, and she _should_ be moved by him keeping his impulsive tendencies in check long enough to keep her remotely safe. She should, but in reality, the Celestial Wizard was starting to feel a little lonely.

Happy still came by occasionally, the cursed cat just a bit too attached to her to completely ditch her, (Lucy wouldn't ever tell him, but she still found the gesture sweet) but the only times she'd had any contact with Natsu in the past week was at the guild, and even then it was minimized. Going on jobs was a no-go either, since it definitely wasn't a good idea for him to take the risk while no one knew when his next symptom would hit him, and just what it would be. During the month, Dragon Slayers were unpredictable like that. Laxus, Gajeel and Wendy had been getting hit with their symptoms non-stop during the past week, like they were supposed to, and after a quick call to Sabertooth Yukino had informed them that everything was going fine - or, like it was supposed to - on their end as well. Cobra had been contacted and cleared as well, but only after some string-pulling on Erza's end through Jellal since Kinana refused to check on the Poison Dragon Slayer herself due to a fight.

And with fight, she meant Cobra's refusal to acknowledge just how much Kinana worried for him.

Nobody was too worried though, Cobra was sometimes difficult to deal with, and Kinana _could_ get a little too worrisome at times, but those two always managed to make up in the end. Especially over something as small as this.

(Honestly, most of the time only Kinana shedding a few tears was enough for the poison user to cave, though he didn't like admitting to it.)

The uneventful week should have given Lucy a perfect excuse to work on her novel and finish this damn part, but even that had proved to be a challenge when her head was filled with worry for her Dragon Slayer. The others had told her not to worry, that it wasn't uncommon for dragons to suddenly halt their symptoms mid-month only to come back at the most unexpected, if not random, of times. And usually, the symptom they'd be hit with wasn't even anything that major.

So worrying was entirely unnecessary. It wouldn't do her any good either way - especially considering she'd lost a few nights sleep because of it too - and with a sigh, Lucy picked up her pen once again; twirling it between her fingers once before getting back to work. She brushed the sudden chill off as her leaving the window open, not bothering to get up and check if that was the case, or closing it if she really had left it open. Focusing on finishing this part was a better, more productive way of passing her time, because if she didn't; it'd eventually drive her crazy.

That, or she'd give up on the novel she'd been working so hard on for _ages._ Both were clearly not an option.

Reading over what she'd written once more, the blonde stiffened at the feeling of a pair of unexpected, yet familiar arms wrapping around her middle, his signature warmth following next as he nuzzled his face into her neck. "Natsu," she murmured, pen still in her hand as she relaxed into his touch. "You know you shouldn't be here." _Even if I want you to be._

"I know," he responded, after a slight moment of silence. His grip tightened around her waist, and she almost smiled. Almost. "But I wanted to see you."

Her brows shot up. Well wasn't that a first to come from his mouth.

"Where's Happy?" she asked instead, distrust settling into her stomach as she felt his grin widening against her neck. Her voice dropped down to a warning. "Natsu..."

"I, uh, _may_ have tricked him into going to the guild by telling him Carla was waiting for him?" His voice got a bit higher at the end there, just the slightest hints of his guilt peaking through even when trying his best to conceal it.

She groaned. "At this hour?"

The Dragon Slayer stayed silent, instead choosing to look over her shoulder in curiosity while maintaining his hold on her body. Lucy had the slightest feeling she already knew what his symptom of the day, or, well, night, was. "Whatcha doing there, Luce?"

"Having a mental breakdown," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair in irritation. "You should probably sit down or something, this might take a while."

There it was, that devilish grin again. Lucy was starting to regret her words.

"Okay," with little to no effort on his part, he easily lifted the blonde off her chair and plopped down on it, settling her down in his lap and simultaneously tightening his grip on her while doing so. He looked a little too proud of his actions, practically _beaming_ and Lucy couldn't help but affectionately roll her eyes.

Affection, huh? Made sense. From what she'd heard, dragons could be really affectionate creatures when they put their minds to it. Igneel being one of the best examples. Lucy didn't doubt that some of that kind-heartedness had been passed on to Natsu, though the Dragon month may have enhanced it a bit.

No matter the cause, as long as he stayed docile, she wouldn't be one to judge.

He'd been trying his best to behave, too, keeping as much distance from her as possible solely for her sake and she knew it couldn't have been easy. Lucy remembered a few years back, a little before the truth about her being his mate had come to light, he'd always stick close to her around this time of year. Closer than normal. Uncomfortably so.

He'd never give her a straight answer when asked, and would actually _hiss_ at Happy whenever the blasted cat made another one of his uncalled for comments. He'd always apologize after the month had ended, but it never failed to confuse her each and every time, especially since even Laxus would comment on Happy's teasing and Natsu's reactions from time to time; telling them to be less obvious. And, now that she really thought of it, Wendy would be a lot more outgoing all of a sudden, always going for Lucy whenever she wanted to go somewhere; keeping her away from the fire breather, but not long enough for it to start affecting his behavior.

It wasn't until Gajeel had explained that everything clicked into place.

Lucy's head lolled backwards, dropping back against his hard chest as her eyes drooped and sleep started to kick in. He was so warm...so comfortable... She wouldn't mind staying like this for a while.

"Hey," Natsu nudged her, trying to get her attention by turning his head and lightly bumping his nose against her cheek, his arms squeezing around her waist as an afterthought. "Luce."

Her eyes opened, just barely. "Hmm?"

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Do naps count?"

"...No." He paused. "I think."

She smiled blearingly, sleep obviously getting the better of her. "In that case...two days ago?"

"Go to bed, Weirdo," he ordered, voice sounding a lot less stern than he'd intended it to be. It was more of a murmur, actually, and either the excessive lack sleep had made her delirious enough to turn the tone of his voice into a soft lullaby, or she just had that effect on him.

"No..." she yawned. "I need to finish this first..."

"Come on, Lucy." He got up, taking her with him and the fact that she didn't even put up that much of a fight was enough incentive for him to get her to sleep. "You can finish this tomorrow."

She hummed, her face tucked into his chest as he carried her the rest of the way, his offer simply sounding to good to pass on. He was being so sweet, she was starting to think this might just turn out to be her favorite symptom of the month.

And yet, it would never beat him 'sober'. When the month was over and he was back to his dorky, annoying, yet lovable self. It was how she knew him. It was how she loved him.

She lifted her arms and wound them around his neck, the action alone being a tiresome task but she didn't care. Natsu looked down, finding her staring up at him through exhausted, lidded eyes and he cocked a brow in question.

"You'll stay, right?" she murmured, and he stiffened, suddenly looking all kinds of uncomfortable.

"Listen, Luce, I-"

"You'll be fine." she assured, voice still a bit slurred, yet stern and comforting all the same. "You won't do anything...I'll...kick your butt if you do..."

He smiled down at her, her drowsy chatters simply too adorable. Something he would never admit in fear of getting Lucy Kicked once she was wide awake. "You will?" He humored, smile widening as she nodded.

"Mhmm..."

He chuckled. "Fine then."

"No stealing my blankets."

"Of course not!"

* * *

The next morning, Lucy woke up without her blankets. The fabric had been kicked to the ground, yet she was still sweating due to a certain overheated Dragon Slayer having wrapped himself around her body in his sleep. Because apparently, his craving for her affection was present even while sleeping.

He looked so peaceful, she didn't have the heart to disturb him and wake him up. So she did the next best thing.

She scooted closer and went back to sleep.

* * *

 ** _Short one this time, hope you enjoyed!_**


End file.
